COLUMBIA  LIBRARIES  OFFSITE 

HI  Al  III  SI    II  Ml    I       SIANDAMI) 


HX64145751 
RM821  .Ad1  Turkish  bath  hand  bo 


mtijeCttpofltegtirk 

CoUege  of  pjpsrtciatus  ano  burgeon* 

Hifararp 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/turkishbathhandbOOadam 


. 


GED,  F,  ADAMS,  M,    II, 


TURKISH  BATH 


HAND  BOOK, 


Edited  and  Compiled  by 


Geo.  F.  Adams,  M.  D 


ST.  LOUIS,  MO. 


For  the  distaul  still  thou  yearnest. 

And  behold  tin-  good  SO  Hear! 

If  to  u^c  the  good  thou  learnest, 
Thou  wilt  Burely  find  it  here. 

—GOETHE 


1881. 

LITTLE  &  BE(  Kl.i:.  ST.  LOl  [S. 


': 


(Ul 


-♦CONTENTS:1- 


I.  Pbeface. 

•2.    Introduction. 

3.  The  Physiological  Basis  of  tiik  Turkish  Bath — By  John 

Balbirnie,  A.  M.  M.  1)..  of  London. 

4.  From  Winter  and  its  Dangers— By  Dr.  Hamilton  Osgood, 

of  Now  York.     His  Opinion  of  the  "  Bath,"  and  Our  Reply. 

5.  Sydney  Ringer,  M.  D.,  on  the  Bath — From  his  Hand  Book 

on  Therapeutics.     Used  as  a  Text  Book,  and  has  passed  to 
the  Seventh  Edition. 

G.     Scientific   Experiments  on  Man    while  in  the    Hot   Air 
ROOMS,  with  Charts,  Etc. — By  William  James  Fleming, 
.    M.  D.,  of  Glasgow,  Scotland. 

7.     Heat  and  its  Uses. 

S.    Concerning  the  Nature  oe  Disease,  and  tiik  Effects  of 
Drugs  opon  the  same. 

9.    Uterine  Disk  asks. 

10.  The  Natural  Test  of  what  can  prove  Remedial  in  Dise  lse. 
Remedies  must  harmonize  with  Nature.  Disease  a  part  of 
the  Plan  of  Creation. 

II.  Opposition  to  New  Truths.    A  characteristic  of  the  Medi- 

cal profession,  with  Proofs. 

12.    Legislative  Needs  for  Preserving   mm:  Public   Uku.hi. 


13.  Hot  Air  Baths  for  the  Insane. 

14.  Consumption.      Theories   of  its   Cause   and  Treatment — By 

Mac  Cormac,  M.  D. 

15.  Is  Medicine  a  Science? — From  '•  Globe-Democrat"  of  March 

27th,  1880. 

16.  Medicine  Not  a  Science.  Written  for  the  "Globe-Democrat," 

by  the  Author  of  this  volume,  in  answer  to  the  foregoing 
article,  but  it  was  refused  i%ou  the  ground  that  it  zvonld  pro- 
voke controversy.'1'' 

17.  An  Honest  Confession. 

18.  Turkish  Baths  versus  Arkansas  Hot  Springs. — Contributed. 

19.  The  Difference   between   Steam   Heat  and  Heat   Radi- 

ated from  Flues. 

20.  Women  and  the  Bath. 

21.  Value  of  the  Bath  to  Buslness  Men. 

22.  Drug  Diseases. 

23.  True  History  of  the  Introduction  of  the  Bath  in  St. 

Louis. 

24.  Our  Own  Experience. 

25.  Exercise  and  Cleanliness. 

26.  My  First  Bath. 

27.  A  Little  Nonsense  Now  and  Then,  Etc.— San  Francisco 

Hammam. 

28.  Personal  and  General. 

29.  The  Bath  Code.     Rules  for  its  Safe  and   Salutary  Adminis-  . 

tration. 


PREFACE. 


"However  plausible,"  says  Dr.  Shepard,*  "may  be  ihu  tii lea 

which  relate  to  treatment  <>f  disease,  and  however  sanguine  may  i><- 
the  views  oi  enthusiastic  specialists,  they  have  no  practical 
significance  in  this  practical  age,  if  they  are  not  sustained  by  experi- 
mental facts  and  elucidated  by  impartial  Inquiry." 

It  is  to  the  elucidation  of  the  merits  of  the  "  Turk- 
ish Bath"  by  impartial  inquiry  and  experimental  facts 
that  I  now  offer  to  my  friends  and  the  public  generally 
this  Hand  Book  on  Turkish  Baths.  I  have  compiled 
the  following  pages  from  the  best  authorities,  and 
spared  no  pains  to  get  at  facts, — no  theories,  no 
romancing. 

It  is  not  generally  known  by  the  public  that  there  is 
.scarcely  a  medical  text  hook,  published  of  late  years, 
on  Therapeutics,  in  which  more  or  less  of  its  pages  are 
not  devoted  to  the  Hot  Air  Bath  as  :i  remedial  agent  in 
disease.  Hence,  the  Turkish  Bath  is  legitimatised. 
Surely  the  world  moves!  I  hope  the  following  pages 
will  he  read  by  all  who  take  an  interest  in  whatever 
tend-  to  better  the  condition  of  our  fellow  creature-, 
for  without  good  health  life  is  not  worth  living. 

The  future  of  the  Bath  is  full  of  promise,  and  preg- 
nant with  blessings  to  suffering  humanity.  The  proi  ed 
results  warrant  the  opinion  that  we  have,  a-  \«i,  only 
witnessed  the  dawn,  a-  it  were,  of  a  more  brilliant  and 


*  Physician  t"  the  Qaeen'a  household. 


successful  future.  I  may  not  live  to  see  it,  but  trust  I 
shall  leave  those  to  come  after  me,  who  will  rejoice  to 
see  it  in  its  full  fruition. 

There  is  pleasure  in  believing  that  among  the  rising- 
generation  of  practitioners,  there  is  a  disposition  to 
escape  from  the  blind  obedience  hitherto  exacted  by 
established  medical  dogmas  and  medical  ethics.  A 
spirit  of  free  inquiry  is  at  work  to  test  all  systems  by 
their  ascertained  results,  and  the  very  changes  that  are 
perpetually  occurring  in  medical  practice  is  the  best 
evidence  of  the  fact  that  the  old  faith,  in  its  assumed 
virtues,  has  been  badlv  shaken.  There  is  a  growing 
conviction  that  the  whole  system  of  drug  medication  is 
repugnant  to. nature, — that  we  cannot  atone  for  violat- 
ing the  laws  of  life  by  the  swallowing  of  drastic  drugs 
and  that  such  ideas  are  demonstrably  false, — that  it  is 
essentially  wrong  in  theory,  and  remorselessly  destruct- 
ive in  practice.  In  conclusion  ( I  quote  another's 
words,)  "it  may  be  affirmed  that  the  Turkish  Bath 
amounts  to  a  discovery  !  It  is,  at  least,  a  new  found 
boon  to  the  States  of  the  Western  world."  We  claim 
for  it  to  become  a  permanent  institution  among  them 
as  a  remedy  for  most  of  the  evils  of  modern  civilization, 
— a  remedy  near  at  hand — safe,  effective  and  agree- 
able. The  questions  it  stirs  arc  those  which,  next  to 
morality  and  religion,  intimately  affect  a  nation's 
best  interests.  The  habits  it  promotes  are  those  which 
most  directly  conduce  to  the  health,  the  happiness,  the 
longevity,  the  physical  culture,  the  material  prosper- 
ity, and  the  moral  elevation  of  the  people  : 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  objections  to  the  bath 
will  be  suddenly  overcome,  or  that,  when  ashamed  to 
give  open  expression  to  them,  the  "subtle  seniors"  of 


the  profession  will  be  less  active  in  carrying  on  their 
opposition  in  private,  to  the  great  detriment  of  patients 
who  consider  they  can  safely  repose  confidence  in  the 
rectitude  and  soundness  of  such  advisers.  The  prog- 
ress of  the  Bath  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  intelligence 
of  the  public,  and  every  year  is  accumulating  a  mass  of 
authoritative  evidence  in  its  favor.  The  practictioner 
who  disparages  the  bath  without  studying  its  proper- 
ties or  testing  its  merits,  only  exposes  his  incapability 
— his  own  unfitness  to  be  trusted  with  the  care  of 
what  is  so  valuable  to  mankind — sound  health.  I  bear 
no  malice  toward  any  one,  but  I  have  written  what  I 
have  written,  that  he  who  runs  may  read. 

Geo.  F.  Adams,  M.  D. 


Introductory  Remarks. 


THE  CASE  STATED. 

Air  and  water  are  natural  elements  indispensable  to 
the  existence  of  animal  life.  It  is  not  surprising, 
therefore,  that,  when  modified  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree  by  another  natural  element — temperature, — 
they  should  become  the  most  general  and  powerful,  the 
most  salutary  and  unfailing  agents  yet  discovered,  for 
the  sustentation  of  normal  life,  and  the  correction  or 
alleviation  of  those  numerous  derangements  to  which 
it  is  exposed.  No  new  principle  is  announced,  no 
novel  theory  propounded ;  support  is  claimed  for  no 
speculative  system  ;  on  the  contrary,  the*  only  desire 
is  to  bring,  in  simple  detail,  before  the  public  what  has 
been  known,  though  imperfectly  practiced,  for  thous- 
ands of  years  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  but  which,  in 
our  own  day,  despite  various  discouragements,  has 
happily  received  scientific  and  practical  development. 

Normal  life  is  health,  and  what  subject  rightly  con- 
sidered, is  fraught  with  more  vital  import  to  thought- 
ful minds  than  the  consideration  of  the  most  effectual 
means  by  which  health  can  be  preserved?  "  The  first 
wealth  is  health," — it  is  the  richest  inheritance  with 
which  man  can  be  endowed,  for  success  in  life,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  rational  enjoyments  of  existence,  is 
mainly  dependent  on  its  possession. 


Surely,  then,  whatever  tends  to  sustain  or  confer  so 
great  a  blessing  as  health,  oughl  to  possess  a  primary 
value  in  the  estimation  of  everj  intelligent  being. 

Physical  health  is  physiologically  necessary  to  per- 
fect mental  health,  and  this  incontestible  truth  ousht 
never  to  be  lost  sightof,  for  as  Dr.  Mulligan4  observes, 
"  The  sound  operation  of  the  mind  is  frequently  dis- 
turbed by  theslightesl  physical  influence." 

Two  schools  of  medicine,  famous  in  their  day,  were 
distinguished  by  opposite  views  on  this  subject.  Stahl, 
the  founder  of  one,  contended  that  bodily  disease  prin- 
cipally proceeded  from  affections  of  the  mind,  while 
Hoffman,  the  founder  of  the  other,  maintained  thai  the 
primary  cause  of  all  disease  was  referable  to  the  body. 
A  more  enlightened  physiologist,  however,  now  admits 
lll:lt  there  is  much  truth  in  both  theories,  and  has 
established  the  existoucc  of  a  reciprocity  of  action 
between  the  mental  and  physical  which  is  an  inflexible 
law  of  our  economy,  the  effects  of  which  are  not  spec- 
ulative but  demonstrative,  though  how  the  mysterious 
relationship  exists  and  acts,  is  insci-utible  and  inexpli- 
cable. It  is  sufficient  for  all  practical  purposes  to 
know  that  such  a  relationship  does  exist,  and  that 
health  is  governed  by  certain  laws  which  are,  in  the 
main,  well  defined  and  easily  understood.  This  being 
the  cast-  it  follows  that  there  is  a  moral  obligation  on 
every  one  who  has  intelligence  and  opportunity,  to 
become  acquainted  with  the  laws,  ami  live  in  obedi- 
ence to  then). 

•'  Know  Thy8elf,"  is  an  ancient  and  wise  maxim, 
which  comprehends  a  philosophy  that  lies  at  the  root 
of  human  happiness  and  well  being,.     Next  in  import- 

*  The-  Passions  >•!   Blind  and  Matter. 


—  10  — 

ance  to  a  knowledge  of  the  means  by  which  health  can 
best  be  preserved,  is  an  acquaintance  with  those  simple 
and .  natural  agencies  by  the  judicious  application  of 
which  deviation  from  the  healthy  standard  can  be  cor- 
rected, and  the  balance  of  disordered  functions  re-ad- 
justed and  restored. 

This  knowledge,  however,  few  persons  care  to  ac- 
quire, the  mass — even  of  the  "educated  classes" — 
being  content  to  remain  ignorant  of  those  physiological 
laws  which  are  the  real  foundation  of  all  that  is 
rational  in  medicine, — of  all  that  has  solid  pretensions 
to  rank  as  Hygienic,  Prophylactic  and  Therapeutic, — 
that  is  of  all  which  can  be  truly  deemed  preservative 
of  health,  or  possessed  of  remedial  properties  in  rela- 
tion to  the  numerous  derangements  to  which  our 
artificial  habits  of  life  render  us  more  or  less  liable. 

It  is  within  the  scope  of  eveiy  ones  observation  that 
on  such  subjects  deplorable  ignorance  prevails.  How 
few  are  to  be  found  who  have  rational  ideas  respecting 
their  own  organism, — who  understand  even  the  lan- 
guage of  physiology,  or  could  give  a  satisfactory  an- 
swer to  the  questions,  What  is  health?  What  is  dis- 
ease? It  is,  in  truth,  unduly  complimentary  to  speak 
of  an  "educated  laity"  in  relation  to  this  subject, 
because,  in  reality,  ignorance,  and  not  knowledge,  is 
the  prevailing  rule.  Now  I  ask  the  candid  reader,  is 
not  my  assertion  true?  Yet  what  passes  current  in 
society  for  an  "accomplished  education"  embraces  at 
least  a  smattering  of  almost  every  subject,  save  A 
knoioledge  of  man,  of  his  organism,  his  functions ,  and 
the  laws  that  govern  them.  This  admitted  defect  in 
our  general  educational  curriculum  sadly  tends  to  fos- 
ter the  superstitions  and  impositions  which  have  for 


ages  existed  in  relation  to  the  alleged  curative  effect 
of  drugs,  mid  in  this  way  becomes  the  source  of  an 
incalculable  amount  <>f"  human  misery.  The  errors  of 
one  generation  arc  thus  transmitted  as  a  baneful  inher- 
itance to  another,  and  inveterate  prejudices  are  per- 
petuated to  stifle  the  voice  of  nature  and  of  truth. 

If  the  so-called  "educated  classes"'  really  possessed 
such  easily  acquired  knowledge  as  I  have  referred  to, 
it  is  not  possible  to  believe  that  the  vocation  of  quack- 
ery, whether  orthodox  or  heterodox,  Legitimate  or  ille- 
gitimate, licensed  or  unlicensed,  would  continue  to  be 
the  prosperous  business  it  has  always  proved,  and 
never  more  so  than  in  our  own  time,  because  it  is 
owing  to  the  ignorance  and  consequent  en  dulity  of  man- 
kind, that  quackery  in  medicine  finds  profitable  exist- 
ence. ,k  Man,'*  observes  some  one,  "is  a  dupable  ani- 
mal.'" Quacks  in  medicine,  quacks  in  religion  and 
quacksin  politics  know  this  and  act  upon  that  knowl- 
edge. Quacks  in  religion  or  polities  are  had  enough, 
but  there  are  always  corrective  influences  more  or  less 
powerfully  at  work  to  counteract  their  mischief: 
whereas,  quacks  in  medicine  labor  in  a  field  peculiarly 
their  own.  They  appeal  to  the  ignorance  of  their 
patients,  and  act  on  the  infirmities  of  human  nature 
when  their  seductive  devices  have  greatest  potency, — 
when  the  body  is  suffering  from  the  torment-  of 
disease,  and  the  intellect  is  obscured  by  apprehensions 
of  fatal  consequences,  and  hence  the  remarkable  suc- 
cess which  has  attended  empiricism,  even  among  the 
best  educated  classes,  in  all  ages 

How  is  this  matter  to  be  righted?  for  no  one  that  has 
the   smallest    amount    of   common    bense   can    deny   the 

Bofl    impeachment.     The  profession   never  will  bring 


—  12  — 

about  the  reform  so  devoutly  to  be  wished  for.  They 
have  been  on  trial  for  two  thousand  }^ears  and  more. 
Dr.  C.  Kidd  says:  "  Our  chief  est  hopes  at  present 
exist  in  the  outer  educated  public.  It  is  a  sad  but 
humiliating  confession."  Sjdvester  Graham  says: 
'  'Our  only  hope  is  to  enlighten  the  public  in  the  laws 
of  life  and  health." 

A  public  so  enlightened  would  not  long  be  retained 
in  the  bondaged  drug  superstition,  nor  be  deterred  by 
the  mere  ipsedixit  of  ignorance,  prejudice  and  selfish 
interests  from  adopting  remedial  agencies  in  accord- 
ance with  nature  and  reason. 

But  in  order  to  comprehend  clearly  the  various  agen- 
cies brought  to  bear  against  the  use  of  the  Hot  Air 
Bath  by  the  medical  faculty,  it  is  necessary  to  candidly 
examine  the  state  of  the  medical  profession  as  it  now 
exists,  and  in  doing  so,  reliance  can  be  most  satisfacto- 
rily reposed  in  the  conscientious  expression  of  opinion 
by  medical  men  themselves.  All  the  conclusions 
arrived  at  in  the  following  pages  will  be  fully  sus- 
tained by  unquestionable  professional  authorities. 


The  Physiological  Basis 


-OF- 


THE  TURKISH  BATH 


BY- 


JOHN  BALBIRNIE,  A,  M,  M.  D, 


OF     X-C2srX30iT. 


Prolace  to  the  First  Edition. 


The  question  which  we  here  feebly  essay  to  expound 
is  something  more,  and  higher  far,  than  the  introduc- 
tion amongsl  us  of  an  oriental  luxury,  a  pure  custom, 
or  new  mode  of  cleanliness,  all  important  as  it  is 
admitted  to  be,  even  in  these  subordinate  points  of 
view.  The  Turkish  Bath  is  a  mighty  agency  for 
the  Prevention  and  Cure  of  Disease.  It  is  a  long 
Boughl  desideratum  of  practical  medicine,  and  will  be 
hailed  by  all  physiologists  and  physicians  (who  have 
more  at  heart  the  interests  of  humanity  than  the  gains 
of  a  calling)  as  one  of  the  most  potent  modifiers  of  the 
living  organism,  whether  in  health  or  disease.  In  this 
aspect  of  the  subject,  the  more  this  new  ally  of  the 
healing  art  is  tested,  the  more  it  will  be  trusted, — the 
more  will  it  vindicate  its  pretensions  to  be  placed  in 
the  arsenal  of  physic,  as  an  orthodox  weapon  of  medi- 
cal warfare  As  such  we  believe  the  day  will  come 
when  its  machinery  will  be  established  as  an  integral 
and  essential  part  of  the  equipment  of  every  hospital, 
dispensary,  asylum,  workhouse,  barracks  and  camp — 
yea,  even  of  every  public  school  of  every  civilized 
State.  Increasing  experience  is  bringing  forth  new 
facts  every  day  to  prove  its  curative  powers. 

W ill  our  palaces  and  metropolitan  club  houses  be 
long  without  the  Bath?  Wetrow  not  How  longwill 
it  be  *ei(  it  becomes  the  health  preserving  implement 


—  16  — 

of  every  complete  private  mansion?  No  other  agency 
will  so  neutralize  the  drawbacks  and  discomforts  and 
dangers  of  our  cold,  damp,  variable  climate  during  at 
least  seven  months  in  the  year.  Whatever  may  be 
alleged  of  the  curative  powers  of  the  Bath,  it  can  not 
fail,  bye  and  bye,  firmly  to  establish  itself  in  the  pub- 
lic confidence,  as  the  grand  prophylactic  of  disease — 
the  preventive  agent  par  excellence. 

There  can  be  no  question  but  that  the  Turkish  Bath, 
extensively  put  within  the  reach  of  the  poor,  will 
do  much  to  supplant  the  baneful  fascination,  and  to 
substitute  the  injurious  stimulation  of  alcoholic  liquors. 
It  will  become,  perhaps,  the  most  powerful  antagonis- 
tic or  counteractive  agent  the  Temperance  Cause  has 
yet  wielded.  That  sacred  cause  must  seek,  as  its  three 
grand  allies  in  exalting  debased  humanity,  Cleanliness, 
Health  and  Religion — and  the  accredited  ministers  of 
those  agencies.  The  most  speedy  and  summary  way 
to  put  down  the  nuisance  and  demoralization  of  the  oin 
palace  will  be  to  pit  it  against  and  to  pitch  against  it 
a  Turkish  Bath  of  at  least  equal  decorative  attractions 
— and  offering  to  the  poor,  for  the  price  of  the  poison- 
ous dram,  two  hours'  oblivion  of  their  care  and  misery, 
with  improved  health,  quiet  nerves,  natural  appetites, 
and,  perhaps,  washed  raiment  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
process.  A  soup  kitchen  or  a  working  man's  refresh- 
ment room  will  be  a  necessary  appendage  to  all  such 
establishments.  It  will  require  no  gift  of  prophecy  to 
predict  which  place  of  resort  shall  receive  most  patron- 
age, and  how  far  the  improved  feelings  and  thoughts 
and  habits  so  induced  will  pave  the  way  for  the  labors 
of  the  city  missionary  !  Will  not  some  wealthy  phil- 
anthropist,   or    society  of  philanthrophists,   try  the 


experiment?  Will  not  the  teetotallers  take  up  this 
question  ? 

h  is,  perhaps  not  out.  of  place  here  l<»  :i  1 1 1 1< I « ■  to,  to 
demolish  a  prevalent  misapprehension  on  the  subject. 
of  the  Turkish  Bath  :  it  is  supposed  to  be  only  suitable 
for  strong  constitutions  !     This  is  a  complete  mi-take. 

The  weakly,  to  the  contrary,  as  they  have  more  need 
for  it,  are,  perhaps,  more  benefitted  by  it.  Its  influ- 
ence as  an  instrument  of  training^ — as  a  means  of 
physical  development — is  the  least  questioned  and  ques- 
tionable. Powerfully  aiding  nutrition,  it  manifestly 
promotes  growth  and  strength.  For  all,  therefore,  in 
whom  nutrition  is  depraved  or  defective — for  the  scrof- 
ulous, the  consumptive,  the  ill-nourished,  the  enfee- 
bled, the  emaciated,  etc.,  the  Turkish  Bath  is  pre-emi- 
nently adapted.  Nor  is  any  extreme  of  age  beyond  its 
scope.  Indeed,  the  national  use  of  the  Bath,  for  ages, 
by  the  Persians,  Greeks,  Romans,  and  (since  the  con- 
quest of  Constantinople)  by  the  Ottoman  nations, 
demonstrates,  at  least,  the  utter  groundlessness  of  its 
alleged  dangers. 

But  every  excellent  thing,  even  the  best,  may  be 
abused.  The  Turkish  Bath  is  too  powerful  an  agent 
for  good  not  to  be  an  equal  instrument  of  evil  when 
misapplied.  Its  dose  requires  to  be  regulated  like  that 
of  any  other  remedy — and  this  certainly  is  the  prov- 
ince of  the  physician.  To  be  wielded,  therefore,  with 
safety,  precision  and  success  in  the  treatment  of  dis- 
ease, and  for  the  invigoration  of  the  delicate — to  be 
delivered  from  the  evils  of  its  maladministration,  ami 
to  prevent  such  accidents  as  have  already  occurred  in 
this   country — to   save,  in  short,   a  good  cause  from 


—  18  — 

a  bad  name,  the  Turkish  Bath  must  be  under  scientific 
prescription  and  skilled  superintendence. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  affirmed  that  the  Turkish 
Bath  amounts  almost  to  a  discovery  !  It  is,  at  least, 
a  new  found  boon  to  the  States  of  the  Western  World. 
We  claim  for  it  to  become  a  permanent  institution 
among  them,  as  a  remedy  for  many  of  the  evils  of  mod- 
ern civilization, — a  remedy  near  at  hand,  safe,  effective 
and  agreeable.  The  questions  it  stirs  are  those  which, 
next  to  morality  and  religion,  intimately  affect  a 
nation's  best  interests.  The  habits  it  promotes  are 
those  which  most  directly  conduce  to  the  health,  the* 
happiness,  the  longevity,  the  physical  culture,  the 
material  prosperity  and  the  moral  elevation  of  the 
people. 

John  Balbirnie. 

Claremont  House,  Gkeat  Malvern,  May  8.  1863. 


Preface  to  the  Second  Edition. 


In  issuing  :i  new  edition  of  this  essay,  the  Author 
regrets  that  the  most  of  it  has  been  worked  off  and 
stereotyped  while  absent  on  a  tour.  This  has  pre- 
vented both  press  corrections  and  the  addition  of  new 
matter  necessary  to  perfect  the  physiological  rationale 
of  the  Turkish  Bath.  It  strikes  the  writer  that  his  own 
and  all  other  explanations  of  its  action  and  virtues  have 
been  too  mechanical — have  been  founded  too  much  on 
what  might  be  termed  the  scavenger  work  of  the 
Bath — its  safety  valve  opening  and  drain  flushing 
operations.  Undoubtedly  this  is  a  true  and  all  import- 
ant point  of  view,  and  alone  would  place  the  Turkish 
Bath  on  a  high  pinnacle  of  pre-eminence,  not  only  as  a 
means  of  cleanliness  and  luxury,  but  as  an  instrument 
of  Therapeutics.  To  macerate  the  corporeal  tissues, 
and  thereby  to  soften  and  open  up  their  porous  struct- 
ure, obstructed  by  disease,  by  sedentary  occupations, 
or  by  luxurious  modes  of  living  ;  to  clear  off  the  epi- 
dermic varnish  that  mars  the  breathing  functions  of  the 
skin,  to  exalt  its  cxhalant  and  absorbent  powers,  and 
thereby  to  enhance  its  uses  as  a  prime  agent  of  the 
aeration  and  circulation,  as  well  as  of  the  purification 
of  the  blood  ;  to  set  free  the  blocked  up  excretions  of 
the  body  by  clearing  their  eliminator?  outlet,  and  thus 
to  facilitate  what  is  called  "the  metamorphosis  of 
structure,"  by  powerful,  yet  unweakening  perspira- 


—  20  — 

tory  drains,  to  equalize  the  distribution  of  the  blood 
on  the  surface  and  in  the  interior,  and  thus  to  undo 
congestions  of  vital  viscera.  Simultaneously  with  all 
this,  to  poultice  (as  it  were)  the  extremities  of  the 
nerves,  to  sooth  the  sentient  external  surface,  thereby 
most  effective^  quelling  internal  irritation  and  quiet- 
ing brain  excitement ;  and  finally  to  close  the  patulous 
pores  and  brace  the  relaxed  muscles  ;  and  then  virtually 
to  electrify  the  whole  system  by  the  finishing  off  ablu- 
tions ;  certes,  these  are  grand  ends  to  gain — an  im- 
mense boon  to  the  sick  or  the  sound  man  ;  and  these, 
moreover,  are  the  express  aims  and  "  indications  "  of 
all  medical  practice,  by  whatsoever  name  called. 
Thank  God,  the  sure  accomplishment  of  these  ends  is 
the  valid  boast — we  had  almost  said  the  exclusive 
prerogative — of  the  Turkish  Bath  !  So  far  we  can 
point  to  its  demonstrable  sphere  of  action.  This  is, 
however,  the  utmost  length  that  writers  have  hitherto 
gone  in  their  appreciation  of  the  modus  operandi  of 
the  Bath.  But  these  effects,  how  valuable  soever, 
are,  after  all  in  a  sort  merely  mechanical,  and  consti- 
tute only  one  half,  perhaps  the  least  potent  half,  of 
the  physiological  benefits  of  the  Bath.  There  is  some- 
thing more  and  greater  far  bevond — something  "behind 
the  scenes,"  though  less  palpable,  yet  paramount. 
We  have  now  to  unfold  vital  actions  of  a  higher  class 
than  the  results  specified — actions  which  it  is  the  aim 
of  all  medicines  to  effect ;  and  which  the  very  best 
medicines,  by  a  rare  chance  only,  succeed  in  effecting. 
That  copious  visible  distillation  of  fluids  from  the 
skin  has  its  precise  counterpart  and  analogue  in  the 
excretory  actions  taking  place  within — on  the  mucous, 
and  even  from  the   serous  surfaces — from  the  ducts, 


—  21  — 

and  even  the  parenchyma  of  glands,  perhaps  even  from 
every  capillary  tube  and  strainer.  In  this  grand  inter- 
ior physiological  molimen  taking  place  always  undei 
the  operation  of  the  Bath,  is  t<>  be  sought  the  explana- 
tion at  once  of*  its  invigorating  and  of  it-  curative 
powers. 
As  elucidating  the  philosophy  of  excretion,  or  the 

DEPURATING  ECONOMY  of  the  body — we  luive  on  page 
22  referred,  in  brief,  to  the  beautiful  physiological 
doctrine  of  CELL-FORMATIONS — minute  vesicular  bodies 
wherein  all  the  ehemico-vital  actions  of  the  organism 
are  effected.  By  the  growth,  tilling  and  bursting  of 
these  nucleated  cells,  all  absorption,  all  secretion,  and 
all  nutrition  are  performed.  We  were  content  there 
with  a  mere  allusion  to  the  subject;  but  as  it  consti- 
tutes in  a  sort  the  very  key  of  the  position — the  strong- 
hold of  the  fortress  of  truth — the  Bath  partisans  con- 
tend for,  the  subject  must  be  opened  up  at  greater 
length,  and  illustrated  and  enforced  so  far  as  limited 
space  will  allow. 

Both  the  organizing  and  the  disintegrating  acts  of 
secretion  are  examples  of  the  beginning  and  ending  of 
the  cell  life  now  in  question.  The  favorite  conditions 
for  the  development  of  cell  action,  when  the  dormant 
or  latent  germs  of  it  exist,  are  heat  and  the  pure 
OXYGEN  of  the  atmosphere.  Instance  the  case  of  the 
growth  of  the  chick  in  0V0,  or  of  the  seed  in  the  soil, 
even  if  that  seed  has  lain  3,000  years  in  the  eofKn  or 
Btomach  of  a  mummy!  Here  cell  development  or 
secretory  action  in  the  fons  et  origo  of  the  formative 
nisvs,  and  not  only  the  beginner,  but  the  maintainer 
and  the  ender  of  it,  till  the  "topstone"  of  the  animal  or 
vegetable  si ructure  is  put  on.     I  low  is  all  this  proved?" 


22 

the  unphysiological  reader  asks.  We  reply,  "the 
microscope  has  brought  to  light  these  dark  arcana  of 
nature."  Let  this  reply  so  far  suffice  for  the  present. 
No  instructed  medical  man  will  think  that  in  treading 
this  ground  I  am  going  out  of  my  way  for  material  of 
defense  of  the  Turkish  Bath.  The  phenomena  of  the 
gardener's  hot-house  (whether  it  be  in  the  way  of 
developing  almost  at  will,  foliage,  flowers  or  fruit,* or 
whether  in  keeping  in  health  and  vigor  tender  exotics 
that  our  rude  clime  would  be  fatal  to  without  such  fos- 
tering care) — I  say  these  familiar  phenomena  are 
illustrations  of  our  control  over  cell-action  .  The 
sights  in  our  prize  cattle  exhibitions  show  our  control 
of  the  seceetoey  activity  of  animal  organisms, 
pushed  even  to  a  morbid  excess.  The  simple  agents  at 
work  here,  in  addition  to  the  nutrient  materials  (which 
must,  in  all  cases,  constitute  the  platform  of  opera- 
tions), are  temperature  and  pure  air.  Of  course, 
vital  action  is,  above  and  beyond  all,  the  conteoll- 
ing  powee.  But  the  grand  point  to  insist  upon  is, 
that  this  very  supreme  vital  action  is  itself  under  the 
control  of  Art.  Those  seceet,  seceetoey,  foemative 
peocesses,  which  we  can  initiate  and  evoke  at  will,  as  in 
the  chick  or  seed,  or  which  we  can  control  in  the  ani- 
mal as  to  produce  all  modifications  of  blood,  bone, 
nerve,  vessel,  brain,  muscle  ;  or  by  which,  in  the  case 
of  plants,  we  vary  at  pleasure  roots,  stems,  branches, 
leaves,  buds,  flowers,  fruit, — these,  I  say,   are  pee- 

CISELY  THE  SAME  PHYSIOLOGICAL  ACTIONS  WE  CALL 
POWEEFULLY  INTO  PLAY    IN    THE    TURKISH  BATH.       This 

has  not  been  laid  due  stress  upon — if  the  point  has 
been  mooted  at  all,  and  we  are  not  aware  that  it  has. 
A  thousand  facts  prove  that  the  caloric  and  oxygen  of 


the  air,  largely  received  b\  every  j >« m* -  of  the  skin  and 
every  vesicle  of  the  Lungs,  Btart  into  unwonted  activity 
the  processes  of  cell-development  <>r  secretory  action. 
This  is  the  basis  and  beginning  <>f  all  salutary,  life- 
fexalting,  disease-curing  efforts  on  the  pari  of  the 
organism.  Of  course  the  subsidiary  agency  of  diet 
and  regimen,  air,  exercise  and  repose,  must  be  invoked 
and  scientifically  regulated.  Bui  in  virtue  of  this 
secret  physiological  machinery  of  cell-operations — a 
true  secretory  nisus — it  is  in  our  power  often,  suddenly 
and  at  oner,  to  extinguish  the  disease,  and  re-constitute, 
re-build  and  re-energize  the  dilapidated  and  decaying 
bodies  of  our  fellow  men, — if  slowly  sometimes,  and 
by  a  very  bit-by-bit  process — yet  unfalteringly  and 
without  failure  as  without  cheek,  in  the  same  >''«//,  by 
the  selfsame  mechanism,  as  the  coral  insect  (out  of  its 
secret  infinitesimal  secretions)  piles  up  its  rock-reef  or 
sea-girt  isle.  After  these  palpable  and  pertinent  in- 
stances of  cell-action,  who  shall  attempt  to  call 
"  romancing,"  or  to  think  incomprehensible,  incredible 
or  mysterious  the  infinitesimalism  of  nature's  opera- 
tions, or  to  question  the  grand  results  they  achieve. 
Si  le  grand  Di(  u  est  grand  deux  les  grandes  choses,  il 
est  tres-grand  dans  les  petites." 

Space  forbids  us  here  to  persue  the  subject  ;  we  have 
thrown  out  sufficient  hints  for  the  reflective.  I  have 
given  the  clue  to  the  true  rationale  of  the  best  results 

of  the  Bath. 

John  Baliuunie. 

The  Turkish  Bath,  Soi  rHFORT,  July  SO,  1864. 


THE    TURKISH    BATH. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

THE    PHYSIOLOGICAL    BASIS  AND  ACTION  OF  THE  TURKISH 

BATH THE      PHILOSOPHY      OF      DEPURATION THE 

PENALTIES    OF    NON-DEPURATION. 

"The  blood  is  the  life,"  as  charged  with  the 
great  vital  stimuli,  i.  e.,  the  sustainers  of  the  move- 
ments of  the  animated  machine,  the  sources  of  its  heat, 
and  power,  and  action  ;  as  containing,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  elements  of  nutrition ,  or  the  building  materials  of 
the  fabric — and  the  fuel  of  the  living  furnace  ;  and  on 
the  other,  the  atmospheric  oxygen  necessary  to  venti- 
late the  house  we  live  in — to  combine  with  the  products 
of  decomposition;  thus,  in  one  act,  by  one  process, 
supporting  the  combustion  of  the  body,  keeping  up  its 
heat,  and  effecting  the  removal  of  its  waste.  This 
waste  is  better  understood  under  both  its  popular  and 
its  scientific  name — the  excretions,  or  the  skimmed  off 
impurities  of  the  body.  Excretion  is,  therefore,  the 
depurating  process  of  animal  bodies,  which  we  must, 
if  possible,  enable  the  reader  fully  to  understand  if  he 
is  to  comprehend  the  action  and  appreciate  the  virtues 
of  the  Turkish  Bath. 


—  25  — 

The  mere  functioning  or  play  of  organized  struct- 
ures, every  movement,  greal  or  little,  of  the  living 
apparatus,  even  every  act  of  volition,  every  thoughl  and 
every  motion,  disengages  heal  and  dissipates  it,  and, 
therefore,  by  the  first  laws  of  chemistry,  must  wear 
down  and  disintegrate  the  mechanism  piecemeal. 
Hence,  from  its  first  development  to  its  final  dissolu- 
tion, the  body  is  in  every  atom  (especially  of  its  soft 
parts)  the  scene  of  incessant,  even  of  momentary 
<  11  iNGB — of  Reproduction  and  Decay — of  the  displace- 
ment of  the  molecules  of  the  old  and  effete  matter, 
and  their  combination  in  new  forms,  in  order  to  their 
exit  from  the  body. 

The  healthy  properties  of  the  living  fabric  are  main- 
tained only  so  long  as  a  due  equilibrium  exists  between 
xi  tuition  and  excretion,  or  depuration;  in  other 
words,  between  supply  and  waste — between  income  and 
expenditure  of  body  elements — between  the  assimila- 
tion of  the  new  materials  and  the  elimination  or  exit 
of  the  old,  worn  out,  or  superfluous  constituents  of 
structure. 

In  the  outgoing  rounds  of  the  circulation  (/.  e.,  by 
the  arteries,)  the  blood  yields  up  its  nutrient  princi- 
ples for  the  growth  or  repair  of  the  several  tissues; 
in  the  incoming  or  returning  circuit,  (i.  e.,  by  the 
veins,)  it  receives  for  removal  or  revivification,  the 
particles  that  have  been  exhausted  of  their  vitality, 
or  that  have  served  their  purpose  in  the  economy. 
This  corporeal  debris  (sewage)  imparts  to  the  blood  a 
dark  color  and  poisonous  properties.  Hence  the  great 
importance  ever  attached  to  keeping  in  good  working 

order  the    EXCRETING    A.PPARATU8    of    the    body.       This 


—  26  — 

was  the  grand  virtue  of  Old  Physic  (which  we  willingly 
concede  to  it, )  of  giving  minute  attention  to  the  excre- 
tions. The  aim  was  right,  the  means  faulty.  Irritant 
medicines  create  the  anomalous  excretions  they  were 
supposed  to  eliminate. 

Secretion  and  Excretion  are  often  used  as  synony- 
mous terms.  They  mean  the  same  thing — literally 
something  separated  from  the  blood  for  specific  pur- 
poses in  the  living  mechanism.  1st.  For  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  nutrient  materials,  as  the  saliva,  gastric  and 
pancreatic  juices,  bile,  etc.  2d.  For  the  formation  of 
the  solids  and  fluids  of  the  body,  as  bone,  muscle, 
nerve,  tendon,  the  serous  fluids  of  the  joints  and 
of  the  "shut  sacs,"  the  humors  of  the  eye,  tears,  mu- 
cus, etc.  3d.  For  the  straining  off  and  outlet  from 
the  system  of  all  substances  whose  retention  would  be 
injurious — all  wasted,  extraneous  or  superfluous  mat- 
ters. These  latter  constitute  the  excretion  proper. 
The  excretions  are  to  be  viewed  as  the  living  ivaste- 
pipe  apparatus  for  equalizing,  as  nearly  as  possible, 
the  availing  amount  of  the  body's  reparative  materials 
to  the  degree  of  its  wear  and  tear.  The  excreted 
products  of  the  body  therefore  are,  or  should  be,  equal 
in  amount  to  that  of  the  solids  and  fluids  ino-ested.* 


*  A  practical  reflection  here.  A  man,  if  he  suspects  his  state  of  health, 
ma}'  thus  summarily  test  it — take  disease  "by  the  forelock,"  and  save  himself 
much  after  suffering,  hy  simply  asking,  "  Is  my  legitimate  waste  in  labor  or 
exercise  equivalent  to  the  quantity  of  good  things  I  daily  consume ;  and  are 
there  no  capillary  obstructors  among  those  good  things?"  If  the  answer  of 
conscience,  or  intelligence,  or  experience,  as  to  these  points,  is  unsatisfac- 
tory, then  is  his  "  nick  of  time  "  to  diminish  or  cut  off  the  supplies,  and  to  hie 
him  to  the  taking-down,  swilling-out  and  rinsing-off  process  of  the  Turkish 
Bath. 

"  Principiis  Obsta:  sero  medicina  paratur, 
Cum  mala  per  longas  convaluere  moras." 
How  mauy  valuable  lives  would  thus  be  prolonged  ?    How  much  invaliding 
prevented?    How  much  medical  practice  superseded?    Is  the  physician  phil- 
anthropist enough  to  rejoice  hereat! 


The  depurating  pbocess  of  animals  is  more  essen- 
tia] to  life  than  even  autrition.  There  is  bul  our 
apparatus  or  system  of  organs,  and  thai  comparatively 
a  small  one.  appointed  for  the  elaboration  of  the  food. 

But  many  and  large  are  the  instru nts  appropriated 

to  the  extrication — the  excretion — of  corporeal  waste. 
The  Lungs,  Liter  and  Skin  are  Bel  apart  for  the 
elimination  of  the  effete  or  superfluous  carbon.  The 
Kidneys  are  the  grand  outlets  for  the  decomposed 
nitrogenous  matters,  and  the  earthy  and  saline  materi- 
als. Every  other  function  may  be  suspended  for  a 
considerable  time  without  involving  life.  We  can  live 
for  weeks  without  food,  or  with  the  liver  "locked  up  ;" 
and  several  days  with  the  functions  of  the  kidneys 
annulled  ;  hut  we  can  live  only  two  or  three  hours  with 
the  skin  coated  over,  and  only  a  very  few  minutes  with 
respiration  suspended!  Hence  it  is  clear  that  the 
integrity  of  the  Eliminatory  or  Depurating  functions 
is  the  firsl  want  of  animal  life — the  indispensable  con- 
dition of  sound  health.  From  the  same  facts,  as  well 
as  from  the  immense  extent  and  inflence  of  the  lungs 
and  skin,  it  is  very  manifest  that  the  grand  business  of 
Depuration  falls  chiefly  on  these  organs. 

The  EXCERNENT,  Or  DEPURATING  ACTIONS  and  APPARA- 
TUS of  the   living  organism   it  behooves  the  lav  reader 

CO  J 

well  to  comprehend,  if  possible.  In  their  philosophy 
lie-  the  basis  of  all  explanations  of  either  the  Theory 
or  the  Practice  of  the  Healing  Art.  As  elucidating 
this  question,  we  must  here  devote  a  sentence  or  two 
to  the  subject  of  Cells — the  secret,  retired,  infinites- 
imal organisms,  which  are  the  true  builders  of  nil 
animated  structure.  Every  vitalizing  act  commences 
in  CELLS.     Nutrition   and   secretion,  growth  and  reno- 


—  28  — 

vation,  are  but  a  series  of  cell  operations.  Fat  is  thus 
excemed,  separated  from  the  blood,  in  its  little  bags 
(adipose  tissue.)  Glandular  secretions  are  but  the 
bursting  and  yielding  up  of  the  contents  of  the  cells 
covering  membranous  surfaces,  or  lining  the  follicles 
and  tubes  of  glands.  The  mucus,  which  coats  the  sur- 
face of  the  mucous  membrane,  is  elaborated  by  epithe- 
lium cells.  The  epidermis  (or  scarf-skin)  is  but 
another  form  of  these  cells,  their  contents  dried  up 
and  exfoliating.  The  cells  are  continually  developed, 
cast  off,  and  renewed  from  the  germs  supplied  by  the 
subjacent  membrane.  The  cells  of  the  intestinal  villi 
(pile  of  tufts)  select  and  separate  from  the  contents 
of  the  alimentary  canal  the  nutritious  from  the  refuse 
matters.  In  like  manner  the  cells  of  the  secreting 
tubes,  follicles,  or  passages  of  a  gland  (as  the  liver, 
the  kidneys,  etc.,)  separate  from  the  blood  the  effete 
matters  it  is  its  functions  to  elaborate  and  discharge 
(as  bile,  water,  etc.)  Organization  is  simply  the 
appropriation  thus  of  the  nutrient  compounds  floating 
in  the  blood,  and  their  combination  in  the  proportions 
necessary  to  produce  all  the  diversified  "  tissues"  or 
structures  of  the  body — here  bone,  there  brain  ;  here 
muscle,  there  mucus  ;  here  nerve,  there  vessels,  etc. 
This  organizing  process  is  sometimes  called  assimila- 
tion— a  vivifying  or  life-giving  process  ;  assimilation 
is  literally  making  food  like  to,  or  part  and  parcel  of 
the  tissues. 

From  all  the  above,  it  will  be  clear  that  the  presence 
of  any  unassimilable  matters  in  the  blood — substances 
foreign  to  nutrition — as  drugs  and  other  poisons, 
miasms,  the  ova  of  entoza  etc.,  or  sheerly  the  unre- 
moved  waste  of  the  body ;    in  other  words,  retained 


—  2!>  — 

Excretions — will  risk  the  elements  (<  ,g.t  hydatid  sacs, 
or  cistircirci  cellulosi.)  In  this  way  worms  are  found 
in  the  brain,  "flukes"  in  the  liver,  etc.  j    cancerous 

tumors  arc  developed,  and  deposits  of  tubercle  Formed, 
etc.     In  the  Bame  way  we  have  to  explain  the  local 

irritations,  the  pains,  the  functional  disturbance  of  or- 
gans, the  deteriorated  nutrition,  t  he  decline  of  st  rengl  h, 
and  the  constitutional  suffering  attending  the  course  of 
certain  diseases.  In  short,  the  alterations  in  the  body 
effected  by  the  loss  of  balance  between  the  functions 
of  nutrition  and  depuration — the  retention  or  retarded 
elimination  of  the  products  of  decomposition — or  for- 
eign substances  accidentally  or  voluntarily  introduced 
— lie  at  the  foundation  of  most  diseases,  and  constitute 
their  most  palpable  material  conditions.  The  mere 
reactions  taking  place  between  the  solids  and  fluids  of 
the  I  tody,  in  channels  where  the  circulation  is  barred 
(e.  g  ,  in  congested  viscera,)  suggests,  even  to  the  lay 
mind  sufficient  cause  of  deranged  health,  malaise  and 
misery.  Imagine  only  half  an  inch  of  the  finest  hair — 
an  eye-lash — dropped  in  among  the  machinery  of  a 
Geneva  watch.  The  living  organism  is,  beyond  all 
comparison,  more  nice  and  complex,  and,  at  least,  not 
a  whit  less  sensitive  to  disturbing  causes  ! 

Healthy  blood-making  depends  infinitely  more  on  /><  r- 
fect  depuration — that  is,  on  the  active  condition  of  the 
excretory  /'unctions — than  on  the  abstractly  nutritive 
qualities  of  the  food.  Whenever  the  body's  debris,  or 
the  matters  of  its  decomposition,  are  not  duly  excreted, 
a  virtual  and  valid  materies  morbi  remains  to  vitiate 
the  process  of  recomposition.  The  functions  of  sup- 
ply being  impaired — the  fountains  of  corporeal  renewal 
being  tainted — the  educts  and  products  of  the  assim 


—  30  — 

ilative  process  must  be  faulty.  Bad  materials  can  only 
furnish  bad  building.  Hence  the  commencing  loss  of 
high  condition  whenever  man  comes  materially  to  in- 
fringe the  Hygienic  laws  ;  when,  for  example,  super- 
fluous food  and  pernicious  drinks  combine,  with  the 
want  of  due  activity  of  the  lungs  and  skin  (i.  e.,  with 
corporeal  inaction,)  to  derange  the  balance  between 
waste  and  supply.  Even  the  diet  may  be  proper  as  to 
quantity  and  quality,  and  the  alimentary  canal  may  be 
kept  "clean;"  but  all  will  not  avail  to  produce 
healthy  blood  or  firm  textures,  so  long  as  the  pulmonary 
and  cutaneous  safety-valves  are  obstructed  or  marred  in 
their  play.  Let  me,  however,  here  remark,  so  intim- 
ate are  the  connections  and  sympathies  between  the 
Skin,  Lungs,  Liver  and  Bowels,  that,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances described,  it  is  impossible  to  keep  the 
alimentary  canal  "clean,"  even  in  the  sense  which 
leaves  out  of  view  the  operations  of  digestion.  Those 
who  feed  the  best,  in  the  popular  acceptation  of 
the  term,  are  not  the  best  nourished.  An  interior  ali- 
ment will  be  turned  to  good  account — any  ungenial 
substance  it  contains  will  be  neutralized,  strained,  or 
burnt  off,  provided  the  air  breathed,  and  the  exercise 
taken  by  the  individual,  be  such  as  to  keep  up  a  highly 
active  state  of  the  grand  eliminatory  outlets  of  the 
body;  in  other  words,  provided  the  lungs  and  skin 
have  the /idlest  scope  Jor  the  performance  of  their  appro- 
priate functions . 

Here  it  falls  into  place  to  illustrate  the  effects  of  in- 
active depuratory  organs,  from  sedentary  habits,  indo- 
lent repose,  and  luxurious  indulgences  of  all  sorts. 
The  structure  and  functions  of  man  show  that  he  was 
not  by  any  means  intended  to  be  a  sedentary  animal. 


—  31  — 

Those  who  live  the  longest  and  enjoy  the  best  health 
are  invariably  persona  of  active  habits.  From  th  mo- 
ment man  becomes  a  civilized  being,  the  Depurating 
proa  ss  of  his  blood  I"  comes  less  pi  rft  ct :  in  other  words, 
the  grand  excretory  Junctions  of  tin  Skin,  Lungs  "ml 
I.  %vi  r  are  less  completi  ly  <  xercised.  From  that  morm  n\ 
diseases  of  various  typi  and  class,  and  om  large  class 
in  particular, — tubercular  diseases  ^scrofula  and  con- 
sumption}— begin  to  show  their  ravages  on  his  frame. 
And  the  reason  of  this  is  very  obvious.  Man's  habits 
and  modes  of  life  become  then  less  conformable  to  the 
instinctive  requirements  of  his  constitution;  his  exer- 
cise is  less  frequent  or  less  natural — either  unremitting 
or  not  at  all  :  his  lungs  arc  compelled  to  long-  periods 
of  comparative  inactivity;  and  his  skin  is  equally 
diminished  in  function  by  loads  of  superfluous  cloth- 
ing, as  well  as  made  susceptible  to  every  atmospheric 
variation  by  all  sorts  of  "coddling"  in  warm  rooms. 
By  these  and  sundry  other  anti-hygienic  influences,  the 
blood  of  the  civilized  man  is  infinitely  less  oxygenated 
than  it  should  be.  He  voluntarily  debar-  himself  of 
the  means  of  carving  off  the  effete  matters  of  his 
body.  When  the  lungs  are  imperfectly  exercised,  it  is 
impossible  for  the  skin  to  be  healthily  active  in  it-  du- 
ties :  for  the  two  go  together,  co-funct ionate  (if  we 
may  coin  a  word. )  Baths  (of  the  old  sort )  and  clean- 
liness were  the  besl  compensations  the  case  admitted. 
But  nothing — savesomi  such  substitute  asthat  now  pre- 
sented to  thi  public  in  tin  shapi  of  the  Turkish  Bath — 
perfectly  compensates  the  want  of  active  exertion  in  a 
pure  air  ;  for  nothing  else  can  perfectly  open,  and  keep 
open  the  body's  >afel  v-valves,  or  secure  the  perfect 
elimination  of  the  corporeal  waste. 


—  32  — 

But  the  worst  of  the  case  of  the  locked  up  excretions 
of  the  skin  in  particular  is  this,  viz.,  that  the  duty  so 
shirked  is  thrown  necessarily  on  the  Lungs,  Liver, 
Kidneys  or  Bowels.  Hence,  nolens,  volens,  able  or 
unable,  the  latter  organs  are  compelled  to  do  double 
luork! — viz.,  to  perform  their  own  specific  work,  and 
to  take  up  the  superseded  and  suspended  functions  of 
the  skin.  For  a  time  the  constitution  gives  no  indica- 
tion of  the  injury  of  this  supplementary  labor  or 
vicarious  discharge  of  duty.  But  eventually,  at  the 
"  turn  of  life," — at  the  critical  age, — in  short,  at  the 
period  of  decline,  the  over-tasked,  over-strained  organs 
knock  under.  Nature  tires,  or  gets  deranged,  in  the 
unequal  conflict.  From  this  starting  point,  a  chain  of 
morbid  causation  gradually  stretches  its  links  round 
the  organism,  first  impeding,  then  disabling  function 
after  function.  The  liver  or  kidneys  utter  their  com- 
plaints with  a  voice  that  can  neither  be  misinterpreted 
nor  resisted.  Congestion  of  the  abdominal  viscera  is 
imminent,  and  blue-pill  is  at  a  premium  ,  or  diuretics 
or  cathartics  are  in  demand.  The  heart,  lungs  or 
brain  show  open  and  manifest  signs  of  congestion,  at 
least  in  embarrassment  and  tardiness  in  their  opera- 
tions. The  individual  ages  rapidly.  His  face  is  tal- 
lowy or  jaundiced.  He  is  the  victim  of  sciatica,  or  tic, 
or  gout,  or  rheumatism.  In  short,  from  a  primarily 
inactive  skin,  aided  by  an  over-active  or  over-stimu- 
lated stomach,  and  perhaps  an  over-worked  or  over- 
worried  brain,  the  sufferer  becomes  prematurely  old 
and  regularly  broken  down — a  victim  of  disease  too 
generally  incurable,  involving  the  principal  organs — all 
the  product  of  impaired  general  and  arrested  local 
circulation — congestion  of  vital  structures — and,  with 


—  33  — 

tin-  state  of  matters,  retained  excretions  and  poisoned 
life-springs ;  all — all  from  the  Bimple  starting  point  of 
dndefurated  blood !  A  host  of  evil-,  therefore,  in 
their  beginning  perfectly   subject    to   man's  control, 

ami  within  ca-v  reach  of  remedy. 

The  most  desolating,  a-  tin-  most  universal  scourge, 
of  modern  society,  viz.,  tubercular  disease,  ha-  its 
origin  in  impaired  Junctions  <</  the  skin  <m<l  In  wis! 
This  is  usually  supposed  to  he  purely  and  simply  a  dis- 
ease of  disordered  nutrition.  Ami  BO  it  is  in  all 
it-  essential  elements.  But  the  fons  mali  lie-  farther 
and  deeper.  Neither  digestive  derangements  nor  scanty 
nutrition  ever,  per  se,  generates  this  "foul  fiend."  Be 
it  thoroughly  well  considered  and  remembered,  it  is 
only  when  impaired  nutrition,  or  bad  blood-making — 
whether  from  bad  materials  or  bad  stomach — coincides 
with  forced  inaction  of  the  pulmonary  and  cutaneous 
functions — that  is,  with  defective  elimination  of  car- 
bonic acid  and  lactic  acid — that  the  dire* blood  taint  in 
question,  and  its  characteristic  products  are  manifested. 
Multitude-  of  scrofulous  and  eonsnmptive  patients  do 
not  belong  to  the  ill-fed  classes,  neither  are  they 
fcmong  the  notoriously  dyspeptic  :  or  they  only  become 
dyspeptic  in  the  advanced  stages  of  the  malady.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  is  a  matter  of  familiar  observation 
thai  your  thorough-going  dyspeptic — and  his  name  is 
Legion — never  becomes  cither  scrofulous  or  phthisical. 
A-  a  general  rule  he  i-  a  being  who  lives  very  much  for 
himself,  and  therefore  with  extreme  care — one  who 
pneompasses  himself  with  the  comforts  of  life — who 
jwchews  excesses,  and  who  has  a  care  to  breathe  pure 
air — who  takes  much  exercise,  who  bestows  much  pains 
on  the  condition  of  his  skin,  giving  it  every  advantage 


—  34  — 

of  clothing,  cleanliness,  currying,  suitable  temperature 
in  doors,  etc.  Besides,  your  gastric  sufferer  is  usually 
a  keen  man  of  business,  or  an  ardent  devotee  of  litera- 
ture and  science,  and  is  not  devoid  of  much 
agreeable  mental  stimulation.  All  these  are  con- 
ditions  opposed  to  the  inroads  of  tubercular  disease! 
But  let  the  circumstances  of  the  case  be  reversed — let 
the  individual  be  ill-fed,  ill-warmed,  ill-housed,  ill-clad, 
ill-ventilated, — let  him  become  the  inmate,  perhaps,  of 
a  cellar  residence,  or  a  prison  cell,  with  moral,  as  well 
as  physical  depression,  low  spirits,  etc.,  to  struggle 
with — and  it  will  then  be  a  miracle,  if  he  do  not, 
sooner  or  later,  exhibit  some  form  of  this  exterminat- 
ing disease.  But  the  morbid  change  in  question 
(tuberadosis)  takes  place,  less  because  of  the  implica- 
tion of  the  digestive  organs,  than  because  the  lungs  and 
skin  have  been  condemned  to  comparative,  if  not  abso- 
lute inactivity.  The  very  sighing  of  the  disconsolate 
is  an  instinct  to  arouse  the  action  of  the  lungs.  In 
like  manner  the  well-to-do  classes,  who  have  no  mater- 
ial or  ostensible  miseries  to  borrow  the  disease  from, 
equally  succumb,  when  blighted  affections,  grief,  be- 
reavements, disappointments,  etc.,  deaden  both  heart 
and  head,  paralyzing,  in  a  sort,  the  skin  and  lungs,  and 
liver,  if  not  limbs  also.  In  short,  any  one  may  be- 
come the  mark  and  victim  of  tubercular  disease,  when 
together  with  causes  impairing  the  general  health,  the 
active  play  of  the  skin  and  lungs  is  impeded,  from  any 
circumstances  whatever.  The  most  potent  of  these  are. 
checked  perspiration,  or  unguarded  exposures  in  varia- 
ble climates,  over-clothing  as  much  as  underclothing 
of  the  skin,  stooping  posture,  or  confinement  of  chest 
by  ligature  or  stays,  the  influence  of  absorbing  pas-] 


—  35  — 

Bions,  etc.,  and  most  of  .-ill  (in  the  highly  favored 
classes  who  should  <»t  herwise  escape  the  disease  )  inflam- 
mations, which  coDgesI  or  consolidate  portions  of  the 
pulmonarj  tissues,  and  the  treatmenl  of  which,  as 
hitherto  managed,  entails  weeks  of  wearisome  confine- 
ment i<>  the  sick  room  ;  too  often  in  the  olden  time  the 
poisoning  of  the  system,  :m<l  the  ruining  of  the  digest- 
ive orgaus,  by  the  excessive  use  of  drugs;  bleeding, 
blistering,  low  diet  and  depletants,  together  with  t  he  de- 
pression of  the  vital  powers  by  every  other  anti-hygienic 
Influence.*  We  shall  give  for  thepreseuf  theapposite 
case  of  the  monkeys  in  the  Zoological  Gardens  of  Lon- 
don, not  a  greal  many  years  ago.  An  eleganl  room 
was  built  for  them.  Every  attention  was  paid  as  res- 
pects  the  quantity  and  quality  of  food.  But  one  thing 
was  wanting — ventilation  was  entirely  n<  <//<<■{<■</.'  In 
short ,  the  functions  of  the  skin  and  lungs  were  iguored. 
The  consequence  was,  they  all  died  of  tubercular  dis- 
ease within  a  short  time. 

In  conclusion  of  this  part  of  our  subject,  we  believe 
it  may  he  laid  down  as  an  irrefragable  truth,  viz.,  that 
no  one  with  perfectly  acting  skin  and  lungs  becomes 
tuberculous;  or  being  tuberculous,  long  remains  with- 
out the  arrest  of  the  ravages  of  the  disease. 

Lactic  Acid  is  one  of  the  products  of  tin-  decompo- 
sition of  tin'  tissues,  and  finds  its  chief  outlet  by  the 
vein.  When  the  cutaneous  function  is  impaired  [and 
this  impairment,  we  contend,  is  an  integral  part  of  tu- 
bercular disease,)  the  elimination  of  the  lactic  acid  is 
attempted    by    other   outlets,    chiefly   by  thi    bowels. 

i    hall  illustrate  all  ilii-  another  day  In  my  medical  Blstoriee  >>f  Borne  dis- 
tinguished victims  of  consumption. 


—  36  — 

Hence  the  prevailing  acidity  of  the  intestinal  canal  in 
scrofula  and  phthisis,  remarked  by  all  who  have  inves- 
tigated that  point.  Hence  the  partial  and  temporary 
benefit  of  alkaline  remedies  in  those  diseases.  This 
acidity  of  the  prima?,  viae,  and  the  derangements  of  the 
alimentary  canal  associated  with  it,  are  most  common 
in  infants  and  children.  Hence  their  greater  tendency 
to  manifest  the  mesenteric  forms  of  scrofula." 

We  challenge  refutation  of  this  position,  viz  ,  that 
imperfect  blood  depuration  (i.  e  ,  defective  play  of 
the  lungs  and  skin, )and  not  directly  bad  digestion,  or 
faulty  blood-making,  is  the  primary  source  of  the  vitia- 
tion of  the  solids  and  fluids  characteristic  of  scrofula 
and  consumption.  A  careful  analysis  of  all  the  phe- 
nomena, and  an  extensive  generalization  of  the  best 
ascertained  facts  reo-arding  the  causation  of  these  dis- 
eases,  can  lead  the  honest  and  dispassionate  enquirer 
to  no  other  conclusion.  For  our  own  part,  we  have 
devoted  many  long  years  to  this  research.  The  solemn 
and  unalterable  conviction  of  our  understandino;  we 
have  now  uttered — and  fearlessly,  as  becomes  a  truth- 
seeker.  The  foregoing  observations,  therefore,  are  a 
high  plea,  if  they  do  not  constitute  an  unanswerable 
argument,  for  the  Turkish  Bath  to  be  established 
among  us,  co-extensively  with  the  evils  it  is  designed 
and  fitted  to  grapple  with. 

Let  us  explain  as  briefly  as  possible  the  mischievous 
effects  on  nutrition  of  impairment  of  the  functions  of 
the  lungs  and  skin — i.  e.,  of  the  want  of  adequate 
supplies  of  oxygen  to  combine  with  the  carbona- 
ceous waste  of  the  body,  and  to  effect  its  elimina- 
tion from  the  system.     This  point  of  view  will  exalt 


—  37  — 

the  utility  of  the  Turkish  Bath  more  highly  in  our  es 
lunation  than  aught  else.  We  have  already  shown 
that  oxygen  is  the  first  want  of  the  animal  <  <  -<  >  1 1  •  >  1 1 1  \ 
— a  want  of  infinitely  more  importance  than  even  food, 
masmuch  as  tin*  product-  of  decomposition  demand 
abstraction  and  exit,  momentarily  as  they  arc  formed. 
Now,  as  the  food  contains  large  supplies  of  this  most  in- 
dispensable clement  (  oxygen, )  is  it  a  very  violent  suppo- 
sition, or  a  very  improbable  hypothesis,  its  reception 
[ailing  by  the  lungs  and  skin,  that  the  economy,  in  its 
pressing  want  of  oxygen  borrows  from  this  sourer  of 
supply  albeit  at  loo  dear  an  interest?  or,  as  Liebig 
would  express  it,  converts  the  elements  of  nutrition  into 
elements  of  respiration/  What  more  likely  resource 
what  more  natural,  what  easier,  what  more  at  hand, 
than  when  the  food  is  decomposed  in  the  process 
of  digestion,  and  its  elements  set  free,  that  a  portion 
of  the  oxygen  of  the  fatty  and  albuminous  matters 
should  he  abstracted  to  supplement  the  deficit  of  that 
introduced  by  the  lungs  and  skin?  Jn  this  way  a  rad- 
ical vitiation  of  the  alimentary  principles  would  be 
effected,  thereby  disabling  them  to  perfect  nutrition 
precisely  the  extent  to  which  they  had  been  robbed  of 
bxygen.  The  tissues  formed  from  this  faulty  material 
would,  of  course,  he  defective  or  diseased  in  a  corres- 
ponding ratio.  This  deteriorated  albumen,  we  /,'//"//•, 
presents  in  the  ease  of  tubercular  subjects  It  will  not 
■brillate  like  the  albumen  of  healthy  blood.  It  as- 
sume-, instead,  a  granular,  amorphus  form — a  form 
unlit  for  the  nutrition  of  the  tissue-.  Chemistry  will, 
perhaps,  tell  us  one  day  what  precise  things  have  taken 
place  in  the  atomic  constitution  of  this  deteriorated 
albumen     Is  it  a  very  far-fetched  and  unlikely  con- 


—  38  — 

jecture,  that  it  has  parted  with  some  atoms  of  its 
oxygen  for  indispensable  depuration?  In  other  words, 
to  diminish  the  evils  of  an  excess  of  uneliminated  car- 
bon in  the  system?  Are  we  assuming  too  much 
in  calling  it  deoxy dated  albumen?  But  we  are  fortu- 
nately not  left  in  the  same  uncertainty  as  to  the  results 
to  the  oily  principle  of  the  loss  of  a  portion  of  its 
oxygen.  Chemistry  even  defines  and  gives  a  name  to 
this  deoxy  dated  oil.  It  is  a  cholesterine — a  form 
utterty  unfit  for  nutrition.  It  abounds  in  tubercle  ! 
This  we  should  expect.  The  liver  is  the  appointed 
organ  for  eliminating  the  excess  of  fatty  matters  in  the 
system.  Cholesterine  is  a  constituent  of  bile.  When 
in  excess  in  the  economy,  we  have  of  course  fatty 
liver.  NowT  this  fatty  liver  is  peculiarly  and  pre-emi- 
nently the  lesion  of  consumptive  subjects  The  fat 
and  oils  of  their  diet  go  into  the  stomach  sound.  Here 
we  find  them  in  a  degraded  shape,  i.  e.,  largely 
divested  of  their  oxygen.  What  greater  proof  could 
we  have  of  the  principle  we  seek  to  establish,  viz.,  that 
oxjrgen  failing  by  the  skin  and  lungs,  Nature,  in  her 
dire  extremity,  when  perfectly  non-plussed,  robs  the 
food  of  it, — as  it  were,  preferring  that  the  machine 
be  kept  in  play  at  any  hazard  and  expense,  rather  than 
come  to  a  stand  at  once — that  the  patient  die  slowly 
and  gradually  rather  than  suddenly.  Need  we  wonder 
that  blood  globules  made  of  such  deoxydated  materials 
are  of  low  vital  properties,  and  that  in  proportion  as 
the  system  is  compelled  to  use  this  faulty  material,  a 
progressive  deterioration  of  the  whole  solids  and  fluids 
of  the  body  takes  place — to  an  extent,  in  the  long  run, 
utterly  incompatible  with  the  functions  of  life? 

This  which  affords,  for  the  first  time,  the  true  ration-  1 


—  39  — 

ale  of*  fatty  liver,  for  the  first  time  also  yields  the 
explanation  at  once  of  the  emaciation  characteristic  of 
tubercular  disease,  and  also  of  the  efficacy  of  cod-liver 
oil  in  checking  that  emaciation  and  mitigating  the 
lymptoms.  By  virtue  of  disabled  luugs  and  sluggish 
skin,  vitiated  air,  faulty  posture  of  body,  ligatures  of 
waist,  sedentary  habits,  close  confinement  in  unwhole- 
Bome  chambers,  breathing  live-long  nights  an  atmos- 
phere unrenewed,  and  doubly  tainted  by  the  mephitic 
exhalations  of  bed,  etc  ,  etc. — oxygen  having  become 
an  imperious  want  in  the  economy,  not  only  in  the 
food,  robbed  of  a  quota  of  its  oxygen,  but  the  availa- 
ble fatty  tissues  of  the  body  are  laid  under  contribu- 
tion. Nature  has,  in  fact,  deposited  fat  in  its  areolar 
beds  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the  necessary 
oxygeu  during  seasons  of  inactivity  of  the  respiratory 
organs  and  skin.  Instance,  point-blank,  hybernating 
animals,  who  commence  the  winter  fat  and  awake  lean. 
The  same  is  the  source  of  the  waste  in  phthisis.      ( Jod- 

liver  oil,  by  presenting  a  large  store-house  of  oxygen- 
ous supply,  spares  the  adipose  tissues,  and  so  far  i-  an 
invaluable  nutrient  element.* 


•  r  answer  two  objections  here:  Fir*1 — Why  i-  the  oxygen  of  tin1  oil  ami 
albumen  robbed,  which  have  so  -mall  quantities  of  ii  to  spare,  compared  with 
the  starchy  and  sacharine  principles  of  the  food  which  abound  in  oxygen.  I 
reply,  thai  the  oxygen  is  not  readily  get  at  able  in  tin-  food  in  question, 
beranse  they  a  it  hj  arates  of  carl  ion.  /.  < ..  combinations  of  w  ater  ami  carbon, 
which  water  would  require  to  be  decomposed  before  it-  oxygen  was  available. 

Nnu  we  have  no  prool  thai  water  i-  ever  etl  her  formed  or  decomposed  m  the 

body.    Bui   n Kvgen  oi  the  oil  ami  albumen  i-  more  easily  separated. 

Eence  these  principles  suffer  the  robberj  of  it,  ami  the  consequent  deteriora- 
tion of  their  properties  as  nutrient  principles.    Oojeriion  Second — Is  nol  your 

de-tinaii i  food  antagonistic  to  Liebeg'e  theory  oi  heat-forming  and  id I- 

form iic  elements?    I  admit  that  it  is;  ami  I  am  prepared  to  prove,  moreover, 

that   LiebCg'S  thens   of  animal  heal    01   I  lie  de-l  illation   id'   f I  in  open  to  fatal 

objections,  which  cannot  he  entered  apon  here  We  give  one  example. :  it 
carbonaceous  i I>  wen'  Bolel]  orchieflj  tor  respiratory  purposes,  what  he- 
come-  .it  the  highly  carbonaceous  rice  and  ghee  diet  of  the  Hindoo,  living 
often  m  a  temperature  above  that  of  bis  body?  How  is  this  carbon  bun  t  "ti 
without  burning  him  np?  LiebCg'S  theorj  totally  fails  to  explain  these  points, 
llow  is  rice  and  ghee  incapable  ol  sustaining  an  Esquimaux?  Suffice  it,  then, 
to  si  ate  tnj  convictions,  that  everj  chemical  research  instituted  wlUonlj  eon- 
ilrin  in\  position,  that  the  oxygen  of  the  fat  of  tubercular  patients  isappropri 

a  ted  as  I  allege  it  to  be:  that  supplementary  the  oil  ami  albumen  of  the  i I 

•  >i  -uch  patient-  arc  laid  under u riinit n.ii  -  are  deoxyriated  tor  depurating 

purposes,  in  tin1  defect  of  i in-  perfect  dutj  of  the  lunge  ami  -km. 


—  40  — 

"Finally,  on  this  branch  of  our  subject :  No  undem- 
onstrable  or  as  yet  undemonstrated  truth  is  clearer  (to 
my  own  mind,  at  least,)  than  this,  viz.,  that  the  avail- 
able oxygen  of  the  food  is  converted  into  an  element 
of  respiration  or  depuration  whenever  sufficient  oxygen 
for  the  purpose  is  not  forthcoming  by  the  inlet  of  the 
lungs  and  skin,  or  sufficient  carbon  not  eliminated  by 
the  same  outlets.  Here,  then,  is  a  grand  impairer  of 
nutrition — a  new,  and  yet  very  old  factor  of  disease, 
introduced  to  the  notice  of  the  profession.  Is  this  not 
tracking  to  his  lair  a  fell  destroyer  of  the  human  race, 
who  has  long  lain  in  ambush? 

The  practical  views  now  suggested  in  connection  with 
the  Turkish  Bath,  when  pushed  to  their  legitimate 
consequences,  will  operate,  we  believe,  a  great  revolu- 
tion one  day  in  medical  treatment,  and  will  influence 
for  o-ood  the  destinies  of  thousands  of  unborn  genera- 
tions  !  I  challenge  my  respected  medical  brethren  to 
refute  the  distinct  proposition  I  lay  down  on  this  head, 
viz.,  deficient  oxydation  of  the  waste  of  the  body  lies 
at  the  foundation  of  most  diseases — an  evil  aggravated 
in  chronic  disease,  b}^  the  attempts  of  the  system 
to  compensate  this  defect  by  abstracting  oxygen  from 
the  food  ! 

Disprove  this  allegation  who  can.f  Beyond  all  ques- 
tion, this  infra-oxydation  is  the  starting  point  of  gout, 
of  rheumatism,  of  diabetes,  of  granular  kidney,  of 
fatty    degeneration,    of    many   forms    of   fever,    and 


fMy  "  party  "—the  "party  "  of  the  Turkish  Bath— will  doubtless  challenge 
the  p"rofessiou  to  this  disproof — to  invalidate  or  substantiate  my  position.  So 
important  is  the  question  practically,  so  much  will  the  truth  of  this  view  ad- 
vance the  cause  of  the  Turkish  Bath,  that  I  entertain  strong  hope  that  some 
rich  partisan  will  make  it  the  subject  of  a  Prize  Essay  for  German,  French  or 
British  chemists  to  decide. 


—   li- 
nt" some  others  of   our  gravest  diseases.      If  so,  vvhal 
is  pointed  oul  as  the  cure  of  this  state  of  matters? 
Less  trust   to  lucre  drugs  unquestionablj  ;    and  more 

attention  to  open  and  keep  open  the  body's  aafety- 
\al\es  !  This  can  always  be  done  by  the  simplest  nat- 
ural agency.  It  would  argue  Little  wisdom  and  less 
benevolence  in  the  All-wise  and  A.ll-merciful  Designor 
and  Maker  of  all  things,  it'  w e  w ere  obliged  to  go  to  the 
wilds  of  Peru  for  a  remedy  to  a  disease  caught  on  the 
banks  of  the  Thames,  or  in  the  meadows  of  the  Sev- 
ern. But  fortunately  for  mortals,  t  he  "Wane  and  anti- 
dote lie  both  before  them."  If  I  were  asked  to  give  a 
brief  and  distinctive  definition  of  the  Turkish  Bath,  I 
would  say,  it  is  that  which  claims  the  exclusive  or  pre- 
eminent power  of  physiologically  opening  the  safety- 
valves  of  the  living  mechanism  ;  or,  in  other  words, 
developing  a  high  activity  of  the  depurating  economy 
of  the  animal  hotly,  and  so  fulfilling  the  firsl  grand  in- 
dication for  the  cure  of  all  diseases  If  wielded  by 
courageous  and  skilled  hands,  no  artificial  or  medicinal 
system  will  be  able  to  compete  with  it,  either  as 
respects  the  quantity  or  quality  of  its  cures.  How 
precisely  adapted  it  is  to  arrest  the  ravages  of  scrofula 
and  consumption,  all  theory  now  declares — if  facts 
failed  to  speak.  And  we  do  anticipate  and  predict  an 
immense  decline  in  the  prevalence* and  mortality  of 
these  maladies,  from  the  time  of  the  general  establish- 
ment and  patronage  of  the  Turkish  Bath  among  the 
Western  peoples — now  their  greatest  victims.  Among 
i  he  Eastern  nations  who  use  the  Bath,  this  desolator  of 
European  hearths  is  almost  unknown.      Eca 


42 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  AGENTS  OF  DEPURATION  ;  OR,  THE  EXCRETORY  APPA- 
RATUS OF  THE  BODY. 

The  whole  body  may  be  considered,  in  one  point  of 
view,  as  a  grand  excretory  apparatus.  The  Lungs,  the 
Skin,  the  Liver,  the  Kidneys  and  the  Bowels  are  but 
the  more  prominent  organs  for  the  elimination  and  out- 
let of  the  superfluous,  wasted  or  noxious  materials  of 
the  system.  The  first  three  only  of  these  constitute 
the  subject  matter  of  the  present  exposition — giving 
simply  so  much  of  their  anatomy  and  physiology  as  is 
necessary  to  the  explanation  of  their  functions.  We 
begin  with 

1st.  The  Lungs.  On  this  function  all  that  is  rele- 
vant or  demanded  for  our  popular  treatise  may  be 
comprised  in  a  very  few  lines  ;  and  the  briefer  the 
more  desirable,  because  we  have  much  to  say  on  the 
Skin  and  Liver — organs  much  more  under  our  control, 
and  therefore,  more  subject  to  abuse. 

The  largest  product  of  the  waste  or  transformation 
of  the  structures  of  the  body  is  carbon.  This  is  indi- 
cated by  the  dark  color  of  the  blood  returning  from 
the  rounds  of  the  circulation — exhausted,  devital- 
ized, and  loaded  with  the  impurities  of  the  body's 
decomposition,  as  well  as  with  much  of  the  ref- 
use of  the  materials  of  recomposition,  chiefly  carbon- 
aceous.    The  Divine  Architect  of  our  frames  has  taken 


—  43— 

corresponding  precautions  for  Its  excretion  or  throw- 
ing out.       The  apparatus  provided  t<>  this  end  is  al 

once  t  he  simplest  and  the  most  comprehensive.  The 
exclusive  requisite  is  a  membrane  thai  shall  ad  mil  t  In- 
diffusion  of  gases;  in,  other  words  that  shall  expose  the 
blood  to  the  influence  of  the  atmospheric  air.  This  i> 
all  that  is  necessary  to  the  outlet  of  the  most  poison- 
ous elements  of  decay,  and  to  the  entrance  of  the 
supreme  principles  of  \  it  ali/at  ion.  To  purify  is  thus 
synonymous  with  to  vivify.  The  air-cell-  of  the  lungs 
and  the  pores  of  the  skin,  are,  respectively,  the  great 
contrivances  lor  this  purpose.  It  is  the  function  of 
the  lungs  ami  of  the  skin  to  fulfil  this  conjoint  office. 
Aeration  of  the  blood  is  thus  the  first  essential  of  life. 
Remove  a  fish  from  the  water,  and  the  gill-plates — its 
Lungs — dry  and  cohere.  Aeration  of  the  blood  is  im- 
possible. The  fish  necessarily  dies  In  the  earth- 
worm, leech  and  other  animals  far  down  in  the  scale, 
there  is  nothing  of  the  strict  nature  of  lungs  and  gills. 
But  ot  her  equally  efficient  means  ( for  them  )  of  aerating 
the  blood  are  adopted.  The  change  from  venous  to  ar- 
terial blood  is  effected  in  small  sacs  or  vesicles,  usually 
placed  in  pairs  along  the  hack,  and  opening  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  body  by  means  of  pores  in  the  skin  called 
spiracula,  i.  e.,  breathing  tubes.  ( 'lose  these  spiracles, 
and  you  as  effectually  kill  the  animal,  as  bydryingthe 
gills  you  kill  a  fish,  or,  by  obstructing  a  man's  windpipe 
you  "stop  his  vitals."  In  the  earth-worm  there  are  no 
fewer  than  120  of  these  minute  external  openings 
between  the  segments  of  the  body.  In  the  leech  there 
are  only  sixteen  on  each  side. 

Throughout  the  whole   animal    kingdom    there   is   an 
intimate  relation  between  the  energy  of  the  lavit  func- 


—  44  — 

tions  and  the  activity  of  the  respiratory  apparatus. 
In  cold-blooded  reptiles,  as  the  frog,  respiration  is 
reduced  to  the  very  minimum  ;  the  vital  functions  are 
correspondingly  low  and  languid.  In  insects,  on  the 
contrary,  there  is  a  large  provision  made  for  breathing. 
In  them  we  find  vital  action  excessive — even  vehement. 
The  common  fly  is  reckoned  to  move  its  wings  a  thous- 
and times  in  a  second  !  Witness  the  activity  of  a 
hive  of  angry  bees,  of  hungry  or  thrifty  ants,  and  the 
large  amount  of  heat  they  evolve  !  The  quantity  of 
oxygen  the}^  consume  far  exceeds,  relatively  to  their 
size  and  weight,  the  proportion  of  any  other  living- 
creature.  In  the  animals  at  the  other — the  high — end 
of  the  scale,  the  blood  is  aerated  by  a  minute  capillary 
net-work  of  vessels  spread  on  the  walls  of  the  pulmon- 
ary vesicles  or  cells.  In  man  it  is  calculated  that  1,800 
of  these  bladder-like  dilatations  are  grouped  around 
the  extremity  of  each  air-tube,  making  in  all  some  six 
hundred  millions.  The  larger  of  these  tubes  possess 
muscular  fibres,  are  hence  contractile,  and  therefore 
liable  to  spasms.  Thus  originates  one  form  of  asthma. 
The  average  amount  of  carbon  given  off  from  the  lungs 
of  an  adult  is  about  half-a-pound  per  diem. 

The  exhalation  from  the  vast  pulmonary  surface  is  a 
far  Greater  ascent  in  the  circulation  of  the  blood  through 
the  lungs  than  the  propulsive  power  of  the  heart. 
This  is  incontrovertible  :  and  this  fact  alone  speaks 
volumes  in  favor  of  the  Turkish  Bath. 

2nd.  The  Skin.  It  is  a  low,  incorrect  and  unwor- 
thy view  of  this  grand  organ  to  regard  it  only  and 
simply  as  a  protective  covering  to  the  body.  It  is,  in 
truth,  much  more — a  living,  sensitive,  breathing,  ex- 


t-4">  — 

haling,  absorbing,  excreting,  eliminating  membrane,  of 
exquisite  structure  and  endowments.  Herein  mam  of 
Ihc  prime  operations  of  life  take  place.  The  skin 
may  truly  be  called  a  greal  appendage  t<>  the  heart 
and  lungs,  being  an  equal  co-worker  with  them  in  the 
circulation  of  the  blood.  It  does  for  the  larger  or 
systemic  capillary  circulation  what  the  lungs  d<>  for  the 
smaller  or  pulmoncti'y  circulation.  It  not  only  rids  the 
Mood  of  its  carbon  and  supplies  it  with  oxygen,  bul 
regulates  its  density — evaporating  its  watery  constitu- 
ents. The  skin  is  at  once  the  grand  drying,  draining 
and  ventilating  apparatus  of  the  body.  It  is  in  itself 
an  universally  expanded  lung,  kidney,  liver,  heart  and 
bowels.  It  is  the  greatest  medium  of  nervous  and 
vascular  expansion,  and,  therefore,  the  seat  of  thrill- 
ing sensibilities,  and  exquisite  tactile  endowments. 
Altogether,  the  skin  is  an  admirable  piece  of  Des:'gn, 
illustrating  alike  the  Wisdom  and  the  Goodness  of  the 
Supreme  Architect.  On  the  sound  condition  of  this 
organ,  as  much  as,  if  not  more  than  that  of  any  other, 
depends  the  comfortable  working  of  the  living  ma- 
chinery. Its  sympathies  are  intimate  and  universal 
with  every  suffering  member.  On  it  are  reflected  (hrir 
ailments  ;  and  its  derangements  in  turn,  are  sure  ma- 
terially to  modify  for  the  worse  the  play  of  the  interior 
apparatus.  Herein  is  apparent  how  potent,  not  to  say 
how  safe,  a  battery  the  skin  presents  for  the  reduction 
of  disease.  In  fact  many  acute  maladies  select  the 
skin  as  it  were  the  common  sewer  for  the  running  off 
of  morbid  elements  which  have  accumulated  in  the  sys- 
tem,  and  which  no  over  action  by  the  bowels  or  kid- 
neys by  drugs  has  been  of  avail  to  eliminate.  We 
speak  of  the  sweating  crisis  in  fevers,  for  example. 


—  46  — 

The  effect  of  leeches  and  blisters,  and  hydropathic 
fomentations  and  compresses,  illustrates  further  the 
powerful  sympathies  of  the  surface  with  the  textures 
and  organs  seated  below.  Everybody  knows  how  in 
small-pox,  scarlet  fever  and  other  eruptive  diseases, 
the  battle  is  won  or  lost  on  the  field  of  the  skin,  accord- 
ing as  its  safety-valve  functions  rise  or  fall.  If  the 
interior  irritation  can  be  safely  transferred  to,  and  re- 
tained on  the  surface,  all  is  well  with  the  patient.  Do 
we  want  a  ready  test  of  the  state  of  health  of  any  man, 
or  woman  or  child,  yea,  even  of  our  horses  or  oxen? 
We  narrowly  examine  the  skin !  Its  hues  and  its 
gloss,  its  roughness  or  its  wrinkles,  its  sallowness  or 
its  pimples,  speak  a  language  the  wise  and  experienced 
well  comprehend. 

The  skin  is  the  greatest  excernent  organ — the  prin- 
ciple outlet  of  the  body.  It  is  a  complete  web  of 
nerves  and  blood  vessels  ;  its  thickly  studded  pores 
constitute  the  vastest  system  of  corporeal  drainage. 
Four  times  more  matter  is  carried  out  of  the  body  by 
the  cutaneous  surface  every  day,  than  by  the  aliment- 
ary canal.  Costiveness  or  constipation  of  the  skin, 
i.  e.,  constriction  of  its  pores, — a  locked  up  state  of 
its  exudations  or  exhalations — is,  therefore,  a  much 
more  serious  affair  than  the  same  condition  of  the  bow- 
els. The  latter  may  be  "bound"  with  tolerable 
impunity  for  a  week.  A  few  hours  arrested  function 
in  the  case  of  the  former  may  produce  the  most 
deadly  symptoms  ;  and  if  it  were  possible  to  seal  up 
all  the  pores  of  the  skin  at  once,  as  by  an  impermeable 
varnish,  the  individual  would  die  in  a  few  minutes  ! 
This  accident  nearly  happened  to  a  famous  pugilist 
some  time  ago  at  the  Royal  Acadenry,  where  it  was 


—  47  — 

Boughl  lo  lake  a  cast  of  Iiim  en  massi  .  We  oan  now 
easily  explain  the  sudden  deatb  of  the  boy  who,  at  the 
rejoicings  on  the  accession  of  Leo  X  t<>  the  papal 
chair,  was  gilt  all  overt  •"  impersonate  the  ageofgold. 
The  skin  and  the  mucous  membranes,  <>r  the  inner 
and  oilier  linings  of  the  body,  may  be  called  and  con- 
sidered almosl  identical  structures.  Their  functions 
are  reciprocal — indeed  substitutionary  and  convertible. 
Hence  the  intimate  alliance  for  weal  or  for  woe  — 
the  profound  sympathies  existing  bet  ween  t  hem,  and 
their  sensitiveness  to  take  on  and  resent  each  other's 
ails  and  aches.  They  are  the  great  highways  of  traffic 
with  the  world  without,  and  the  vital  domain  within. 
Through  them  must  pass  in  all  the  elements  of  cor- 
poreal reconstruction — the  vivifying  atmosphere  and 
electricity — the  pure  ether  of  God's firrmament  around 
us — the  nutrient  elements,  or  food  and  drink,  with 
salts,  alkalies,  earths,  metals,  etc.  Through  the  same 
membranes  pass  out  the  corporal  sewage,  debris  or 
waste  —  all  that  has  served  the  purpose  of  animal 
economy.  The  obstructed  functions  of  one  or  the 
other  of  these  inner  and  outer  investments  of  the  body, 
originate  the  largest  number  of  Acute  Diseases;  as 
in  their  permanent  derangement  lies  the  great- 
est source  of  inveterate  Chronic  Ailments.  If  we 
we  want  thoroughly  to  purify  the  blood,  permanently 
to  increase  the  tempeature,  to  enhance  the  reactive 
powers — to  induce,  in  short,  a  radical  renovation  of  the 
entire  man,  we  must  address  ourselves  to  exalt  the 
functions  of  th<  shin!  In  one  grand  point,  however, 
these  co-related  organs  differ — they  borrow  their  chief 
nerves  from  different  sources.  These  of  the  mucous 
membranes  are  nerves  of  organic  life,  and  depend   for 


—  48  — 

their  energy  on  the  spinal  ganglia,  or  centres  of  vege- 
tative or  automatic  action.  The  sensitive  nerves  of 
the  skin,  on  the  contrary,  belong  to  the  domain  of 
animal  life,  and  derive  their  origin  from  the  cerebro- 
spinal centres .  But  the  organic  nerves  are  here  inter- 
spersed also  for  the  purposes  of  nutrition,  and  for  the 
absorbent  and  exhalent  functions  of  the  skin.  These 
nervous  connections  explain  the  exquisite  morbid  and 
healthy  sensibilities  of  the  skin  and  mucous  mem- 
branes, as  well  as  their  intimate  sympathies  with  each 
other,  and  with  the  centres  of  vitality — the  brain  and 
spinal  marrow,  the  heart  the  lungs,  the  viscera  of  the 
abdomen,  etc.  In  this  way  all  morbid  impressions  are 
transmitted  from  without  inward.  By  the  same 
mechanism,  the  cutaneous  functions  in  their  turn  be- 
come deranged  by  sympathy  with  every  internal  irri- 
tation ;  according  to  the  extent  and  intensity  of  the 
interior  derangment,  or  visceral  disorder,  is  the  healthy 
action  of  the  skin  marred  or  prevented ;  becoming  in 
turn,  and  reciprocally,  a  source  of  aggravation  to  the 
internal  malady.  All  digestive  derangments,  for  ex- 
ample, tell  upon  the  skin  ;  and  conversely,  all  cutaneous 
disturbance  tells  upon  the  digestive  organs. 

The  texture  of  the  skin  is  divisible  into  three  princi- 
pal layers  :  1st,  the  outer  scarf-skin,  or  epidermis — a 
simple  exudation  and  diying  up  of  cells  or  scales,  in  a 
pavement  fashion,  pushed  upward  from  the  dermis  cho- 
rium  or  true  skin,  below.  The  scurf  of  the  head  is  an 
illustration  of  the  epidermic  scales.  It  is  a  truly  excre- 
mentitious  membrane,  and  may  not  inaptly  be  deemed 
and  designated  a  sort  of  protection-varnish  to  the 
vasculo-nervous  web  below.  But  as  it  is  constantly 
generated,  it  is  not  a  coating  intended  long  to  be  re- 


—  49  — 

tained/    Like  all  the  structures  it  is  of  cell  formation 
Possessed  of  independent,  inherent   power  of  life  and 
growth,  each  cell  draws  to  itself  the  fluid  residuum  of 
ll"'  colorless  pari   of  the  blood,  and  secretes  a  horny 
patter.     These  cells  Lie  layer  upon  layer,  constituting 
:l  s°1'1   of  mosaic  flooring.     As  the  deeper  layers  are 
gradually  pushed  outward  and  become  seperficial,  their 
fluid"  portion  evaporates,  and  they  are  converted  into 
dry,  flat,  extremly  thin,  and  dense  scales.     The  abnor- 
mal  accumulation  of  these   scales   is   seen    in    many 
cutaneous  diseases.     Now  it  is  easy  to  conceive  how  a 
Sense  compact  varnish  of  this  sort,  when  accumulated 
beyond    measure— when    ool    periodically   removed— 
When  encrusted  moreover  with  dirt— obstructs  the  vent 
of  the  pores  ;  not  even  admitting  the  tiling  or  layers 
of  scales  to  ad  as  a  valve,  and   rise  with  the  pressure 
of  fluid  from   below.      In   the    same  way  it  is  apparent 
how,  by  soaking  and  scrubbing,  we  improve  the  p  r- 
jneability  of  the  skin,  and,  therefore,  increase  its  fitness 
both  for  exhalation  and  absorption.     This  hdrny  sur- 
face-skic  is  principally  dried  albumen,  with  unctuous 
matters.     Alkalies  combine  with  these  and  constitute 
a  soap,  or  detergent.      Hence   the   universal   use   of  a 
combination  of  alkalies  with  oil  for  washing  purposes. 
2d,  the  dermis,  or  skin  proper,  orckorium,  is  an  elastic 
network  of  fine  fibres  or  strands  firmly  interwoven, 
[n  the  meshes  of  these  are  enclosed  little  bags  of  fat 
—cushions  you  may  truly  term  them— a   regular  pad- 
Bing,  as  it  were,  provided   by  the  Supreme  Architect, 
to  enable  the  skin  to  resist  the  compressions  and  con- 
tusions it  is  daily  exposed  to,  as  well  as  to  till  up  any 
^regularities  of  the  surface.     These  elastic  cushions, 
with  admirable  foresighl  and  benevolence,  are  made  to 


—  50  — 

abound  in  the  soles  of  the  feet  and  palms  of  the  hands. 
3d,  between  the  upper  surface  of  the  true  skin  and 
scarf-skin,  is  a  separate  and  distinct  layer  of  blood 
vessels,  and  nerves  heaped  up  into  little  conical  emi- 
nences, like  tufts,  or  the  pile  of  plush.  They  are  called 
papillce.  Hence  this  fine  sensitive  nervo-vascular  web 
is  called  the  papillary  layer.  The  color  of  the  skin 
depends  on  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the  blood  in 
these  vessels.  The  circulation  of  those  of  the  head, 
face  and  neck,  is  much  under  the  control  of  the  nervous 
system,  as  is  manifested  in  the  opposite  effects  of  fear 
or  shame.  The  retention  of  the  blood  in  these  little 
vessels  gives  the  mottled  livid  hue  of  the  skin  when  ^ 
chilled,  and  what  is  familiarly  known  as  goose  skin —  ? 
the  gorged  tufts.  <• 

Inflammation  of  the  skin  consists  in  persistent  gorg-r 
ins;  and  retardation  of  the  blood  in  these  papillce.  The 
pores  of  the  skin  are  minute  tubes  about  a  quarter  of  x 
an  inch  long,  and  of  a  spiral  course.  A  coil  of  this  > 
tube  constitutes  the  perspiratory  gland.  On  the  lines 
of  the  palms  of  the  hands  and  soles  of  the  feet  these 
pores  present  visible  dots,  3,000  to  the  square  inch, 
equivalent  to  seventy  feet  of  drainage-pipe  on  every 
square  inch  of  the  body.  If  .all  the  pores  were  joined 
end  to  end  they  would  form  a  tube  twenty-eight  miles 
Ion0-!  Conceive,  then,  the  results  of  checked  perspi- 
ration— but  a  few  miles  of  this  sewage-way  blocked  up. 
Yet  such  obstruction  is  more  or  less  the  characteristic 
of  most  chronic  and  acute  diseases  In  these  cases  the 
excreting  functions  of  the  skin  are  more  or  less  at  fault. 
It  is  either  scurfy,  dry,  and  bruning,  as  in  certain  fevers 
and  inflammations  ;  or  it  is  pale  and  dead,  and  parch- 
ment-like, as  in  long-standing  digestive  derangements. 


—  51  — 

To  compensate  this  interrupted  function  of  the  .-kin, 
the  liver,  the  lungs,  the  kidneys,  or  the  howds,  assume 
often  a  vicarious  or  supplementary  activity — ;i  sorl  of 
double  safety-valve  work.  Under  this  double  duty 
they  are  very  apt  to  break  down — being  then  unfitted 
oil  her  for  their  own  or  their  supernumerary  functions. 
Hence  the  gravest  diseases  are  engendered.  Here  drugs 
an-  bul  too  often  a  powerless  resource,  because  a  fund 
of  life,  hard  to  replenish,  has  been  drawn  upon,  which 
only  the  organic  energies,  by  repose  and  diet,  and 
regimen,  bathing,  and  perspiration,  etc. — all  judiciously 
handled — can  gradually  restore.  Hence  the  virtue  of 
the  Turkish  Bath. 

The  amount  of  visible  perspiration,  as  every  one 
knows,  varies  with  the  exertion  undergone,  and  the 
heat  of  the  weather.  The  insensible  perspiration,  how- 
ever, or  the  vapor  exhaled  from  the  skin,  is  a  more 
uniform  quantity — averaging  from  two  to  two  and  a 
quarter  pounds  per  diem.* 

From  all  this  showing,  then,  of  the  nature  and 
functions  of  the  skin,  it  will  at  once  appear  how  pre- 
eminently fitted  it  is,  if  not  intended,  to  be  the  battle- 


*  The  skin  abounds  in  oil  glands  an<l  tubes,  analagous  to  the  perspiratory. 
The  unctuous  secretion  takes  place  most  manifestly  on  the  shoulders,  on  the 
face  and  nose,  along  the  ridge  of  the  eyelids,  in  the  ear  passages,  ami  the  roots 
of  the  hairy  scalp.  This  oily  product  is  sometimes  arrested  in  its  minute 
secretory  tubes  when  the  skin  is  either  torpid  or  inflamed.  The  contents 
become  solidified  and  impacted  in  the  tubes.  The  projecting  points  gel  black- 
ened with  dirt  or  dust.  When  the  lube  is  forcibly  emptied  an  animalcule 
resembling  a  wood-louse  is  found  imbedded  in  the  utile  worm-like  mould  of 
the  tube.  The  disease  is  called  acne;  vulgarly,  "grog-blossoms."  The  uses 
of  l  bis  oily  matter  are  evidently  to  lubricate  the  skin,  to  impede  its  too  rapid 
evaporation,  to  neutralize  the  soaking,  relax  mil:'  effect  of  moisture,  and  in  pro- 
tect it  ■•.ir.iinst  acrid  substances.  In  the  eyelids  it  evidently  serves  the  purpose 
of  a  gutter,  or  caves,  to  confine  the  tears  and  moisture  of  the  eye.  It  keeps  ihe 
cartilaginous  cavities  of  the  nose  soft,  and,  with  the  hairs,  serves  to  repel  the 
intrusion  of  insects. 


—  52  — 

around  of  the  physician  in  his  conflict  with  disease : 
1st,  from  its  being  the  seat  of  thrilling  sensibilities — 
as,  in  a  sort,  an  electric  surface — it  is  the  great  medium 
of  transmitting  soothing  or  stimulating  impressions  to 
the  brain  and  spinal  cord,  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  the 
viscera  of  the  chest  and  abdomen  on  the  other.  The 
nerves  may  well  be  compared  to  a  system  of  infinite 
connecting  wires,  or  telegraph  lines,  along  which  inti- 
mations of  every  kind  are  transmitted  to  the  extremi- 
ties, and  all  intermediate  parts,  and  back  again  from 
the  extremities,  etc.,  to  the  centres  of  power  2d,  from 
its  immense  superficies — consisting  in  the  largest  drain 
or  waste-pipe  of  the  body.  3d,  and  lastly,  from  its 
beino-  an  organ  both  everywhere  patent  to  observation, 
and  capable,  without  injury,  of  standing  a  little  rough 
treatment  when  necessary. 

But  a  still  more  interesting  point  of  view  of  the 
functions  of  the  thin  than  even  anything  embraced  in" 
these  comprehensive  details  remains  now  to  be  devel- 
oped. Depuration,  of  which  (as  we  have  seen)  it  is  a 
principal  organ,  is  very  grand  work,  and  takes  the  pre- 
cedence even  of  nutrition  in  the  rank  of  importance  to 
life.  But  the  highest,  the  first,  the  most  indispensable 
function  of  animals,  the  skin  shares  in  common  with 
the  heart  and  lungs.  It  justly  boasts  of  being  a 
coadjutor  with  them  in  the  prime  faculty  of  circulating 
the  blood.  Without  cutaneous  exhalation  there  could  be 
no  motion  of  the  fluids!  The  vital  current  would  come 
to  an  almost  instantaneous  stand.  So  that,  however 
great  our  admiration  may  be  of  the  economy  of  the 
skin,  as  the  chief  eliminator  of  the  carbon  and  lactic 
acids  of  the  system,  our  ideas  of  its  supreme  utility  and 
importance  will  rise  still  higher,  when  we  view  it  as  an 


_  53  — 

organ  quite  as  essential  as  cither  the  heart  or  lunge  to 
the  circulation  of  the  blood.  This  is  a  poinl  <>f  view 
many  arc  not  prepared  for.  Nevertheless  it  is  the 
iinili.  It  is  ground  that,  so  far  as  we  know,  has  not 
vet  been  occupied  by  the  expounders  of  this  "Oriental 
Question  :"  and  it  is,  moreover,  ground  that  i-  decisive. 
( )n  this  alone  the  whole  merits  of  the  Turkish  Bath 
may  be  Bafely  based.  Its  partisans  need  seek  noother. 
Herein  alone  rests  its  all-sufficient  defense. 

Some  of   the  facts  on  which    the    true    philosophy  of 

the  Turkish  Bath  is  based  may  be  easily  comprehended, 
and  very  briefly  summed  up. 

The  blood,  as  is  well  understood,  describes  a  two- 
fold circuit  in  the  body.  1st,  that  through  the  lungs; 
2d,    that   through    the    general    system.      The    heart.    :i 

double  organ,  and  as  a  great  force-pump  for  each 
circle,  is  placed  at  the  junction  between  the  two.  But, 
mark  well,  the  propulsive  power  or  force-pump  function 
of  the  heart,  extends  only  a  comparatively  small  way 
in  the  route  the  Mood  has  to  travel,  i.  e.,  only  through 
the  more  capacious  trunks  and  palpable  vessels.  When 
we  come  to  the  capillary  circulation  (which  is  by  far 
the  greater  moiety  of  the  whole)  we  find  supplemen- 
tary local  forces  invoked  to  aid  the  transit  of  the  vital 
fluid.  We  say  nothing  here  of  the  alleged  influence  of 
the  ganglionic  nerves — of  the  contractile  power  of  the 
capillaries — of  the  affinities  and  reactions  existing 
between  the  vessels 'and  their  contents.  These  may  be 
good  hypotheses,  hut  they  are  not  demonstrable  agents. 
The  grand  motor  power  we  have  now  to  introduce,  viz  , 
cutaneous  "nil  pulmonary  transpiration,  is  demonstra- 
ble and  point    blank.      There    is    an    exact    analogy  and 


—  54  — 

co-relation  between  the  functions  of  the  leaf  in  plants 
and  those  of  the  skin  and  lungs  of  animals.  [The  lungs 
may  be  likened  to  an  extended  inward  skin,  rolled  up 
into  folds  or  convolutions,  honeycomb-wise,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  close  packing  ] 

Now,  the  force  or  influence  which  promotes  the  as- 
cent of  the  sap  in  plants — viz.,  the  exhalation  from  the 
the  leaf — is  one  identical  physical  principle  with  that 
which  determines  the  motion  of  the  fluids  of  the  body 
toward  the  exterior,  viz.,  the  transpiration  from  the 
skin  and  lungs.  All  liquids  in  connection  with  an 
evaporating  membrane  acquire  motion  towards  that 
membrane.  In  other  words,  evaporation  from  living- 
surf  aces,  or  even  from  dead  membranes  in  contact  with 
liquids,  causes  the  fluids  to  rise  in  the  capilhiries,  thus 
producing  motion  or  determination  from  behind,  i.  e., 
from  within  toward  the  surface.  The  amount  of  mo- 
tion is  directly  proportionate  to  the  rapidity  of  evapor- 
ation, i.  e.,  stands  in  a  fixed  relation  to  the  temperature 
and  moisture,  or  dryness  of  the  atmosphere.  Capillary 
attraction  fills  the  vessels,  but  it  does  not  cause  the 
fluids  to  rise.  The  motion  of  the  fluids  belongs  to,  or 
is  derived  from,  the  evaporating  surface.  The  immense 
transpiration  constantly  going  on,  in  the  state  of  health, 
from  the  large  exhalant  surface  of  the  skin  and  lungs, 
produces  a  virtual  vacuum  within  the  capillary  tubes 
whence  the  fluid  or  vapor  is  oozing.  Bv  the  external 
pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  and  in  the  case  of  the 
lungs,  by  the  vacuum  created  at  each  expiration,  the 
fluids  are  forced,  or  rather  drawn,  into  the  superficial 
vessels.  In  this  way  the  blood  acquires  a  decided 
movement  and  determination  to  the  surface.  This  vis 
ab  extra  is  no  doubt  aided  by  the  other  powers  con 


—  00  — 

cerned  in    the  circulation,  as   the  contraction    of   the 

capillaries,   the   chemico-vital  actions  taking  place   in 
their  extremities,  &c,  *.^c. 

From  all  this  it  will  be  very  apparent  h<>w  the  sup" 
pression  of  transpiration  (as  by  improper  exposure  to 
chills  and  draughts  when  the  skin  is  unfortified  or 
bathed  in  sweat,  or  by  states  of  the  atmosphere  in 
which  moisture  and  heat  or  cold  coincide:  and,  there- 
fore, the  conditions  of  evaporation  fail  )  i-  followed,  as 
a  accessary  consequence,  by  a  check  of  this  outward 
movement  of  the  fluids.  A  primary  essential  of  health, 
if  not  of  life,  is  thus  interfered  with.  If  the  power  of 
vital  resistance  lie  not  strong,  or  if,  at  the  same  time. 
the  body  he  diseased  and  weakened,  then  occurs  san- 
guineous arrest  or  stagnation — congestions  of  vital 
organs,  and,  in  the  same  proportion,  impairment  of 
vital  functions.  The  lay-reader  will  not  marvel  at  the 
fatality  of  lung  diseases,  chronic  or  acute,  when  he 
reflects  that  the  Lungs  are  a  great  rolled-up  inner  skin,* 
with  tubes,  like  the  branches  and  twigs  of  a  tree,  pen- 
etrating in  all  directions  through  that  rolled-up  mass — 
a  true  congeries  of  cells  to  convey  the  air  to  its  hidden 
surfaces  and  convolutions.  Bronchitis  coats  over  the 
lining  of  this  branching  air-tube  with  a  viscid  phlegm. 
Pneumonia  solidities  the  porous  mass  of  cells  which 
constitutes,  as  it  were,  the  leaves  of  this  imaginary 
tree.  Apoplexy  floods  this  whole  structure  with  blood. 
Tubercle  compacts  and  hardens  the  mass.      It  is  a  con- 


►Imagine  a  great  net  of  the  fines!  texture  and  material,  some  fifty  yards  of 
blond,  fur  example,  with  a  minnte  bn.1  vry  distinct  bladder  Oiling  an  each 
mesh,  ami  all  ii\i>  rolled  up  into  the  Bize  ami  shape  of  a  sugar  loaf;  bnl  from 
the  apex  or  cone  the  point]  proceeds  a  lube,  with  dividing  branches  and  iw  igs, 
precisely  like  those  of  a  tree,  penetrating  the  congeries  of  cells  and  blood  ves- 
sels in  all  directions,  to  convey  the  air  t<>  a-  everj  convolution,  and  to  its 
nmost  recesses.    This  gives  you  a  perfect  Idea,  if  a  rough  one.  of  the  lungs 


—  56  — 

cretion  in  its  effect  equivalent  to  sealing  up  or  obstruct- 
ing the  pores  of  the  skin  ivith  a  close  crop  of  warts.  In 
such  a  state  of  affairs  how  can  transpiration  take  place? 
What  becomes  of  the  functions  of  the  lungs  thus  beset? 
Imagine  a  large  patch  of  these  supposed  warts,  ulcerat- 
ing and  bleeding,  and  coalescing  into  a  seething  crater 
of  corruption,  and  the  general  disturbance  and  local 
desolation  that  will  emanate  from  this  morbid  centre 
There  you  have  the  essence  of  consumption — what  may 
be  called,  after  this  figure  of  speech,  the  JEtna  or 
Vesuvius  of  the  living  man,  rather  say  of  the  dying 
man!  Even,  without  a  figure,  we  talk  of  pulmonary 
caverns. 

No  fact,  then,  we  think,  can  be  established  more 
clearly  than  this,  viz.,  that  whatever  impedes  exhala- 
tion from  the  cutaneous  surface,  or  from  the  air-cells 
of  the  lungs,  stagnates  the  circulation  of  the  blood 
in  the  interior  organs.  If  the  stoppage  of  the  exhala- 
tion be  complete,  the  arrest  of  the  circulation  is 
entire  and  sudden.  Death,  with  coldness  and  shiver- 
ing, ensues.  Hence  we  find  that  coating  over  a  rabbit 
with  pitch  (by  preventing  exhalation,  and,  therefore, 
the  circulation  and  oxygenation  of  the  blood)  rapidly 
diminishes  its  heat,  in  fact,  asphyxiates  it.  The  rabbit 
so  treated  dies  in  a  shivering  fit ! 

We  have  another  beautiful  illustration  of  this  doc- 
trine of  suppressed  transpiration  in  the  phenomena  of 
epidemic  cholera.  Whatever  be  the  noxious  agent  or 
miasm  that  causes  the  disease,  one  thing  is  very  cer- 
tain, viz.,  that  it  operates  to  annul  or  paralyze  at  once 
both  pulmonary  and  cutaneous  exhalation.  Hence,  the 
Turkish  Bath,  early  had  recourse  to,  would  be  the  cure 


par  excellence ,  as  it  cuts  short  the  cold  stage  of  ague. 
The  stifling  old  fashioned  vapor  and  hot-air  baths, 
nnder  the  bed-clothes,  failed  because  what  was  wanted 
was  pure  hot  oxygen,  and  the  lungs  to  1 1:1  \ « -  their  due 
share  of  it  The  essential  of  cholera  is  the  draining 
away  of  the  watery  portion  of  the  blood  by  the  exbal- 
:int  surface  of  the  bowels!  What  remains  is  so  much 
clot,  or  tar-like  residuum  thai  cannot  circulate.  The 
lungs  arc  useless  and  the  skin  'lead.  Transpiration  is 
abolished.  Oxygenation  is  impossible.  The  living 
furnace  won't  draw!  The  carbon  cannot  be  burnt  <<\'\. 
Animal  heat  cannot  be  elaborated.  Hence  the  deathly 
coldness  and  blue  skin  characterizing  the  disease,  from 
the  entirely  venous  nature  of  the  contents  of  the 
vessels.  When  things  have  come  to  this  pass  the 
vitality  of  the  Mood  is  reduced  to  the  lowest  eM>. 
Hence  the  simple  chemical  affinities  gain  the  ascendant 
over  the  vital.  The  serum  of  the  blood  separates  from 
the  fibrine,  and  the  channel  of  its  outlet  once  being 
opened  from  the  congested  intestinal  membrane  (  where 
the  Mood  has  retreated  on  being  driven  from  the  sur- 
face) then1  is  nothing  in  the  unaided  power-  of  the 
constitution  to  stop  the  drain  of  vitality.  The  salt-  of 
ili*-  serum  indeed  operate  as  >>  cathartic  to  each  exhal- 
ant  tube!  The  drain  goes  on  so  long  as  there  is  any 
scrum  to  drain  away.  The  primary  conditions  of  life 
fail,  the  organic  powers  are  brought  to  a  stand.  The 
system  .sinks,  defeated  in  .-in  uuequal  contest. * 


even  in  this,  the  l >< ».i\ " -  direst  extremity,  if  the  patient  has  not  been 

already  poi <•'!  by  tin-  remedies,  or  if  the  constitution  ha-  not  been  Unpaired 

I,,  excesses,  or  by  chronic  viscera]  irritation    a-  from  dragging  ami  drain 
chdnking),  genial  natnre  will  usual!}  come  t"  the  rescue.    The  vomiting  and 
purgingVill  stop  from  Bheer  exhaustion,  from  there  being  no  more  serum  to 
i  Ira  in  a  waj .    The  1  ery  collapse  that  follows  gives  in'  organism  time  to  rail)  — 
to  collect  her  fori.-  for  a  final  Btruggle  with  the  enemy,    in  tbe  calm  that 


—  58  — 

But  the  evil  of  checked  transpiration  does  not  lie 
solely  in  the  visceral  congestions  so  produced  ;  but 
there  is,  moreover,  the  arrest  of  the  chemico-vital 
changes  ever  operating,  both  on  the  surface  and  in 
the  interior  of  the  body.  Perspiration,  for  example^ 
contains,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  lactic  acid  and 
the  lactates  of  soda  and  ammonia — the  products  of  the 
decay  of  the  muscular  tissues  in  which  this  acid 
abounds.  During  muscular  exertion  these  products 
are  largely  evolved.  Hence,  if  perspiration  be  checked 
under  such  circumstances,  by  prolonged  cold,  or  chill, 
then  these  decomposed  materials  are  retained  in  the 
blood,  or  forced  to  be  eliminated  by  the  vicarious  duty 
of  other  organs.     This  is  the  fountain  and  origin  of 

follows,  the  soft  tissues  constituting  the  greater  pait  of  the  body,  yield  up  the 
fluids  that  yet  saturate  them,  and  the  salutary  thirst  created  brings  fresh  sup- 
plies. The  vessels  receive  the  new  tribute,  and  contract  down  upon  their 
diminished  contents,  and  so  the  circulation  once  more  recommences.  The 
reaction  is  apt  to  be  excessive— a  grand  source  of  peril  in  the  convalescence. 

We  cannot  dismiss  this  allusion  to  the  cholera  question  without  bearing  an 
honest  but  fearless  and  emphatic  testimony  to  the  merits  of  Dr.  William 
Stevens,  the  discoverer  of  the  only  true  antidote  yet  found  to  the  ravages  of 
this  fearful  scourge  of  mankind.  His  saline  treaiment  constitutes  one  of  the 
finest  illustrations  of  the  application  of  the  Baconian  or  inductive  method  of 
philosophy,  to  disease  and  remedy,  to  be  found  in  the  whole  range  of  medical 
science.  In  fact,  the  medication  in  question  is,  perhaps,  the  only  instance  of  a 
specific  in  the  practice  of  the  Art  of  Physic  furnished.  Everywhere  else  we 
grope  more  or  less  in  the  dark  as  to  the  real  modus  operandi  of  medicines.  But 
here,  the  precise  ingredients  that  are  drained  away  in  the  exuded  serum  of  the 
blood  are  restored  to  .t!  The  success  of  the  treatment  corresponds  with  the 
accuracy  of  the  philosophical  analysis  that  dictated  it— only  two  or  three  per 
cent,  of  failures — while  a  host  of  rival  modes  of  cure  often  lose  one-half  of  the 
cases ;  sometimes  three-fourths  !  But  impartial  historical  truth  compels  us  to 
confess  that  paltry  professional  jealousy  and  personal  pique  were  long  per- 
mitted to  obscure  this  great  discovery,  and  to  rob  the  suffering  public,  to  a 
great  extent,  of  its  benefits.  In  this  he  only  resembles  his  great  prototypes, 
Harvey  and  Jenner.  Posterity  will  do  him  justice.  Advanced  now  "  in  age 
and  feebleness  extreme  " — his  heart  dead  and  his  ear  deaf  to  the  voice  of 
human  applause,  he  may  yet  console  himself  that  a  grateful  country  will  not 
quite  let  his  memoi y  die !  It  would  have  been,  perhaps,  sufficient  for  the  glory 
of  a  lesser  name,  to  have  been  among  the  first— if  not  the  very  first — of  sur- 
geons who  planned  and  successfully  executed  the  grand  operation  of  lying  the 
internal  iliac  artery! 


—  59  — 

rheumatism,  gout,  diseases  of  the  kidneys  and  Bkin, 
erysipelas,  fevers,  inflammations,  etc.  Hence  w< 
how  the  blood  becomes  doubly  tainted,  doublj 
charged  with  abnormal  elements.  The  oppressed 
excretory  organs  are  far  from  being  up  to  the 
mark  of  their  own  respective  functions,  lei  alone 
performing  supernumerary  duty.  Digestion  and  assim- 
ilation are  weakened  in  the  same  proportion.  Heroin 
is  ;i  new  and  independenl  source  of  the  direct  genera- 
tion of  morbid  products.  Thus  i -^  1 1 1 « -  meld  of  the 
suffering  organism  thickened,  and  confusion  gets  worse 
confounded. 

.">d.  The  Liver.  As  this  is  a  great  decarbonizing  or- 
gan, supplementary  to  the  skin  and  lungs,  and  one 
influenced  powerfully  by  the  Turkish  Bath,  its  function 
falls  necessarily  for  review  in  this  place.  Situated 
midway  between  the  apparatus  of  supply  and  the 
organs  of  distribution,  it  ads  as  a  reservoir  of  carbon 
and  a  diverticulum  from  the  heart  and  lungs,  straining 
off,  before  it  reaches  these  organs,  the  surplusage 
of  carbon  brought  by  the  uifsr, ,//,■/'<■  m'/ix  directly 
from  the  alimentary  canal.  But  the  liver  does  some- 
thing more  than  rid  the  system,  at  first  hand,  of 
superfluous  carbon.  The  bile  is  more  than  an  excre- 
mentitious  fluid.  Before  being  ejected,  it  is  turned  to 
account  for  the  purpose  of  digestion.  Thus  is  the 
liver  wisely  ordained  to  economize  material,  to  sub- 
serve  nutrition,  even  by  refuse  drainage  matter. 
It  serves  to  sift  and  clarify  the  dissolved  contents  of 
the  stomach  and  bowels.  It  check-  the  influx,  into 
the  general  system  of  excess  of  carbon  coming  directly 

from  the  spurces  of  supply,  and  so  take-  the  -train  off 

of  organs  already  sufficiently  charged  with  the  bodi "- 


—  60  — 

impurities.  The  thoracic  duct,  or  great  main-pipe 
of  the  lacteal  system,  carries  the  chyle  (the  newly 
absorbed  nutrient  principles)  directly  to  the  venous 
trunk  terminating  in  the  heart.  But  the  otherwise 
disposable  carbon  is  absorbed  by  the  mesenteric  veins, 
and  so  finds  summary  exit  by  the  liver — multitudinous 
and  complex  ends  accomplished  b}^  simple  jneans  that 
show  wondrous  design — mingled  Wisdom  and  Goodness. 
The  immense  quantity  of  blood  the  liver  receives  from 
the  coats  of  the  intestines,  and  which  it  decarbonizes, 
places  in  a  strong  light  the  relief  the  due  performance 
of  its  allotted  work  affords  to  its  coadjutors,  the  skin 
and  lungs.  These  three  grand  allies  in  the  living 
economy  intimately  co-operate  with  each  other,  play 
into  each  other,  substitute  each  other,  sympathize  with 
each  other,  suffer  with  each  other,  and  have  their  dis- 
eases cured  by  the  relief  of  each  other.  The  failure  of 
any  one  of  this  "  triple  alliance"  imposes  upon  the 
other's  vicarious  duty,  i.  e.,  if  they  can  do  it;  and 
where  they  cannot,  disease  is  the  consequence.  The 
prevalence  of  liver  complaints  among  the  indolent, 
luxurious,  and  high-fed  classes,  and  in  Europeans  liv- 
ing in  hot  climates  after  the  dietetic  fashion  of  cold 
countries,  is  not  now  difficult  to  account  for.  In  the 
first  place,  their  food  abounds  in  rich  carbonaceous 
compounds,  the  error  being  not  less  in  quantity  than 
quality.  In  the  second  place,  the  amount  of  stimu- 
lent  liquors  taken  to  propel  along  their  heavy  indi- 
gestible meals,  aggravates  the  intestinal  irritation 
by  determining  an  undue  amount  of  blood  in  the 
alimentary  mucous  membrane.  In  this  case,  the  skin 
loses  what  the  intestine  gains  ;  the  sanguineous  excess  of 
the  one  causing  its  deficit  in  the  other.     In  the  third 


place  the  want  of  adequate  exercise  of  the  limbs,  lunge 
and  skin,  fills  up  the  measure  of  these  evils,  This  ii 
does  by  preventing  thai  due  waste  of  the  body,  thai 
activity  of  the  excernanl  function-,  which  passes  off 
with  t  he  leasl  bane  to  the  constitution,  the  superfluities 
of  a  full  or  pernicious  diet,  oxydizing  and  eliminating 
the  impededed  products  of  decomposition.  Herein 
precisely  lies  the  error  people  commit  in  hot  weather 
at  home,  or  in  burning  climates  abroad.  Herein  is 
the  philosophy  of  the  bilious  diseases  then  and  there 
prevalent.  Under  a  high  temperature  the  cutaneous 
functions  require  the  most  unimpeded  scope,  instead 
of  being  diminished  or  paralyzed  by  diversions  of 
blood  to  the  interior  by  congested  mucous  membranes, 
etc.,  all  the  effect-  of  table  excesses,  of  irritant  food, 
drinks  or  drugs.  Hence  the  two-fold  source  of  the 
accumulation  of  carbon  in  the  system.  1st,  that  in 
the  liver  directly,  from  a  too  heating,  full  and  fatty 
diet,  especially  in  warm  weather  or  in  hot  climate-. 
2nd,  that  in  the  general  circulation,  or  in  congested 
viscera,  from  its  impeded  exit  by  the  skin  and  lungs. 
In  cold  weather,  on  the  other  hand, or m cold  climates, 
people  are  less  bilious.  The  habits  are  necessarily 
much  more  active,  to  enable  them  to  resist  the  cold. 
The  limbs,  lungs  and  skin  are  all  in  more  vigorous 
play,  and  so  effecting  more  completely  corporeal  waste, 
a-  well  as  throwing  it  out,  burning  up  the  fuel  of  the 
living  furnace,  exalting  animal  heat  by  quickened 
transformation  of  matter,  and  the  increased  chemico- 
vital  changes  so  brought  about.  To  this  extent,  there- 
fore, i>  the  liver  relieved  of  the  supplementary  duty  it 
would  otherwise  be  obliged  to  assume*,  if  the  super- 
ficial outlets  of  carbon  were  locked  up  or  acting  under 


—  62  — 

par.  Hence,  in  cold  weather,  the  comparative,  if  not 
complete  immunity  from  bilous  disorders  of  per- 
sons of  temperate  and  active  habits.  But  in  hot 
seasons  or  climates,  there  being  little  or  no  demand 
for  carbonaceous  diet  as  fuel  to  heat  the  body,  the  labor 
of  its  extra  extrication  must  necessarily  fall  chiefly  on 
the  liver.  Hence,  this  organ,  taken  aback  by  duty  it 
is  incompetent  for,  irritated  and  overtasked,  falls  into 
disorder.  Nature  often  attempts  to  clear  away  the 
surplusage  thus  accumulated,  in  the  shape  of  cholera, 
dysentery,  diarrhoea,  fevers,  etc.  The  same  explana- 
tion accounts  for  the  popularity  of  such  medicines  as 
calomel,  colchicum,  dandelion,  etc.,  that  stimulate  the 
functions  of  the  liver  and  emulge  its  ducts.  These  in- 
testinal irritants  and  disgorgers  of  loaded  gall  bladder 
and  bile-tubes,  afford  the  needed  relief,  but  it  is  only 
temporary.  It  is  like  borrowing  cash  in  the  Palmer 
fashion,  at  600  per  cent !  But  say  only  cent,  per  cent, 
interest,  or  fifty  per  cent.,  what  follows?  What  must 
follow  but  corporeal  bankruptcy  sooner  or  later?  The 
spend-thrift  goes  on  for  a  time,  leaning  on  the  false 
prop  that  is  to  pierce  and  break  him.  Medicinal  stim- 
ulents,  like  alcoholic,  leave  behind  the  necessity 
for  their  repetition  in  increased  dose.  And,  note  well, 
the  stomach  was  never  intended  to  be  a  depository  of 
filth  in  any  shape,  and  pharmaceutical  filth  is  often  the 
most  abominable  of  all.  The  stomach  is  only  fitted, 
as  designed,  to  receive  the  legitimate  elements  of  the 
corporeal  structures — the  sound  building  materials  of 
the  body.  Aught  else  is  inappropriate,  unassimilable, 
uncongenial ;  in  fact,  in  a  lesser  or  greater  degree,  acts 
as  a  poison,  if  it  be  not  actually  such.  This  is  a  prin- 
ciple  that   cannot  be  impunged.     But  this  game  of 


—  68  — 

over-stimulating,  over-helping,  over-sl  raining  t  be  In  er, 
will  nol  always  continue.  The  day  of  reckoning 
comes  :it  last.  Long  enduring  Nature  gets  into  the 
sulks;  she  will  endure  and  be  "pui  upon"  oo  longer. 
Functional  derangement,  under  all  this  tampering  and 
tinkering,  cutis  in  structural  alteration.  A  prime 
organ  of  life  gives  way,  profound  general  malaise  and 
disorder  follow  in  its  train,  and  the  whole  fabric 
totters  to  its  fall. 

The  biliary  disturbances,  whether  periodical  or  con- 
tinued, is  the  simple  attempt  to  explode  off  the  penl 

up  materials  of  disease  :  and  in  sooth,  what  are  most 
diseases  hut  efforts  of  nature  to  rid  the  system  of 
substances  undrawn  off  by  the  excretories,  by  the 
outlets  appointed  to  eliminate  whatever  is  superfluous 
or  injurious?  In  a  state  of  the  system  so  charged  and 
ready  for  a  morbid  explosion,  it  is  easily  conceivable 
how  little  things  may  upset  the  nice  balance  of  health, 
may  drop  a  spark  of  tire,  as  it  were,  among  combusti- 
bles; as,  for  example,  an  indigestible  article  of  food, 
a  convivial  excess,  mental  worry,  extreme  heat  or  cold, 
etc.  Jt  is  not  so  clearly  apparent  how  the  same  cause, 
in  one  case,  insinuates  slow,  lingering  but  fatal 
disorder,  and  in  another,  carries  off  the  patient  by 
rapid  cholera,  inflammation,  rheumatic,  typhoid,  .or 
putrid  fever,  etc.,  etc. 

A  vast  deal  of  low  spirits,  ennui,  tcedium  vitce,  etc., 
of  the  easy  and  wealthy  classes,  arises  sheerly  from 
the  deficient  excretion  of  the  body's  waste,  notably 
from    accumulated    carbon,  from    biliary    impurities; 

the  freest,  best  and  safest    vent    to    which    would  be  by 

the  skin,  as  roused  by  the  Turkish  Bath.       If  these 


—  64  — 

morbid  accumulations  were  sudden,  they  would  pro- 
duce all  the  shock  of  a  narcotic  poison,  sometimes 
immediate  death  or  paralysis  ;  but,  accummulated  piece- 
meal, the  system  gets  time  to  accommodate  itself  to 
the  poison,  as  it  does  with  alcohol,  or  opium,  or 
arsenic,  in  large  doses,  if  gradually  begun  with  and 
Ions:  persevered  in.  But  this  very  tolerance  on  the  part 
of  the  constitution  is  the  cause  of  the  digestive  and 
biliary  derangements  of  the  over-fed  and  under-worked 
classes.  With  so  palpable  a  materies  morbi  gorging 
the  liver,  floating  in  the  circulation  and  poisoning  its 
life  springs,  its  particles  arrested,  perhaps,  in  the  deli- 
cate textures  of  the  brain,  is  it  any  marvel  that  patients 
are  consumed  with  all  sorts  of  nondescript  bodily 
aches  and  ails — worst  of  all,  with  mental  misery,  far 
more  intolerable  than  corporeal  suffering?  "A  peer- 
age or  a  pension,"  as  the  Times  would  say  to  the 
physician  who  should  successfully  exorcise  these  de- 
mons of  our  high  civilization,  the  plagues  of  our  most 
refined  society.  In  the  Turkish  Bath,*  conjoined  with 
diet  and  regimen,  air,  exercise,  and  discipline  of  the 
appetites  and  passions,  lies  the  remedy. 


*  Well  regulated,  bien  entendue,  and  not  prescribed  at  random,  or  to  be 
invoked  at  the  beck  or  whim  of  every  patient  who  has  once  experienced  its 
solaces.  I  happen  to  know  that  already  the  bath,  like  other  good  things, 
is  being  abused.    Thus,  a  good  cause  will,  bye  and  bye,  get  discredited. 


—  65  — 


CHAP  T  E  R    III. 

TIIK  MEANS  AND  APPLIANCES   OF   THE    BATH — RATIONALE 

OF  ITS  PROCESSES. 

It  is  a  sound  axiom,  universally  received  and  acted 
upon  l>v  philosophical  physicians,  viz.,  that,  the  dis- 
ordered organism,  given  fair  play  to,  rights  Itself; 
rectifies  its  own  derangements;  and  it  is,  therefore,  a 
principle  held  by  some  of  the  great  practitioners  of  our 
time,  one  ably  contended  for  by  the  late  Sir  John 
Forbes,  that  the  cure  of  disease  may  be  legitimately 
sought  for  in  the  due  use  of  Nature's  pure  elements 
( /.  i  .,  in  the  appointed  or  physiological  stimuli  of  the 
vital  powers  ;  in  the  judicious  aiding,  abetting  and  sus- 
tentation  of  those  powers  in  their  self-conservative 
Struggles)  and  not  exclusively  in  the  vain  nostrums  and 
farragos  of  the  apothecary's  art !  These  may  be  all 
good  in  their  place.  The  alleged  "  specifics  "  are  non- 
entities, are  a  fallacy,  a  delusion  and  a  snare  !  We 
have  no  specifics.  Science  renounces  the  research. 
Not  more  nonsensical  was  the  pursuit  of  the  "Elixir 
Vita?,"  the  "Aurum  Potabile,"  the  "Philosopher's 
Stone."  My  Lord  Palmerston  would  define  to  a  T  the 
function  of  the  physician  cut  being  "  the  judicious  bottle- 
holder"  to  Nature!  This  is  really,  in  a  great  crowd  of 
cases,  the  grand  part  he  has  to  act.  Now,  we  shall 
B66  what  salutary  ingredients  the  Turkish  Bath  puts 
into  this  restorative  bottle:  how  it  relieves  Nature 
of  the  impediments  that  shackle  her  operations,  how  it 


—  (56  — 

softens  and  relaxes  the  solids  that  the  fluids  may  the 
more  freely  circulate,  how  it  expands  and  opens  up  the 
vast  porous  structure  of  the  tissues,  and  so  promotes 
the  clearance  and  cleansing  of  the  secret  rills,  and 
channels,  and  reservoirs  of  life.  It  sensibly  seeks  to 
purify  the  vital  currents  by  flushing  the  vital  sewers  ! 
It  opens  up  the  waste-pipes  of  the  body,  only  to  run 
off  and  disgorge  through  them  its  accumulated  filth. 
The  pores  of  the  skin  constitute,  in  fact,  the  vastest 
drainage  system  of  the  animal  economy,  and  are  at 
once  the  safest  route  and  most  salutary  outlet  for 
purging  off  all  extraneous,  decomposed,  or  superfluous 
matters.  The  Turkish  Bath  sets  about  this  scavenger- 
work  by  the  immersion  of  the  body  in  pure  hot  air.  A 
preliminary  macerating,  sweating,  clarifying,  and  elimi- 
nating process  is  thus  performed.  The  pores  are  again 
closed,  and  the  relaxed  tissues  and  skin  contracted, 
tonified  and  braced  up  by  tepid,  then  cold  ablutions. 
Renovated  vigor  is  thus  imparted  to  the  whole  organ- 
ism, even  without  the  refreshment  of  food  !  Thus  a 
grand  immediate  benefit  is  gained  by  this  truly  artistic 
process,  viz.,  to  nourish  and  strengthen  the  body  upon 
the  old  materials  existing  in  the  storehouses  of  the 
fabric,  to  burn  them  off,  or  to  use  them  up,  so  as  in 
any  case  to  have  clear  receptacles  and  clear  conduits 
for  the  elaboration  and  distribution  of  the  new  food. 
In  this  way  we  notably  energize  or  activate  the  absorb- 
ing powers,  the  threefold  effect  of  which  is  :  first,  to 
promote  perfect  circulation  ;  second,  to  break  up  and 
remove  unhealthy  tissues ;  and  third,  to  put  down 
more  substantial  structures  in  their  place. 

It  may  be  received  as  a  companion  proposition  to  the 
first  we  stated  under  the  present  head  of  our  subject — 


perhaps  almost  as  m  corollary  from  it,  viz  ,  thai  all 
irritation  by  drugs,  violent  corrosive  substances  (or  l>v 
concentrated  alcoholic  stimulants),  of  the  delicate  inter- 
nal lining  of  the  alimentary  canal  is  equivalent  to 
blistering  il  !  Give  a  strong  healthy  dog  a  dose  of 
what  is  considered  a  "  mild  domestic"  medicine — 
M  grey  powder,"  with  castor  oil,  or  salts  and  senna. 
Dissected  the  day  after,  the  mucous  membrane  of  the 
intestines  will  present,  here  and  there,  large  blood-shod 
patches — telling  how  the  blister  has  acted.  And  vet 
we  every  day  so  blister  the  gastric  tubes  of  delicate 
infants  and  children — not  to  talk  of  the  horse-blister- 
ing in  the  case  of  adults — by  aloes  and  colocynth, 
calomel  and  drastic  salts,  scammony  and  gamboge, 
elaterium  and  tartar  emetic,  Croton  oil,  et  hoc  genus 
omne. 

Now,  the  Turkish  Bath  is  wholly  antagonistic  to  this 
destructive  stimulation  of  the  most  delicate,  sensitive, 
and  highly  vitalized  surfaces  of  the  body ;  tissues 
"  tender  as  the  apple  of  the  eye" — as  repellant  to  rude 
touch — as  resentful  of  abrasion — and  as  difficult  to 
appease  when  irritated.  But  the  Bath  not  only  does 
not  irritate,  it  positively  soothes  man's  sentient  inner 
and  outer  linings,  at  the  very  time  that  it  opens,  and 
flushes  and  floods  the  body's  natural  drains. 

As  the  internal  organ-,  therefore,  are  nice  things  to 
tamper  with,  or  rather  won't  safely  bear  tampering 
with,  Nature  set s  before  us  the  skin  as  the  grand  battle- 
field in  the  warfare  with  disease.  The  keeping  of  this 
field  in  proper  trim  is  also  the  best  means  of  preserving 
health  regained  or  not  yet  forfeited.     Everywhere  else 

the    System    may  be    refractory  to   our   operation-,    and 


—  68  — 

impatient  or  irresponsive  to  discipline  ;  but  the  skin  is 
always  placable,  always  submissive,  ever  ready  to  be 
soothed  or  coaxed ;  and  failing  that,  is  not  unwilling 
to  be  coerced  into  salutary  action  for  the  rest  of  the 
economy  ;  provided,  always  we  know  the  right  way  to 
evoke  its  powers  and  to  conciliate  its  co-operation. 

The  most  fertile  sources  of  morbid  elements  in  the 
blood  are  retained  or  altered  secretions.  These  are  now 
admitted  to  lie  at  the  foundation  of  a  great  majority  of 
diseases  ;  hence,  the  most  theoretically-feasible  as  well 
as  the  most  practically- available  agents  of  cure  are 
those  required  for  the  healthy  exercise  of  the  natural 
functions,  especially  those  of  waste  and  repair — of 
secretion  and  excretion.  In  the  capillaries  chiefly,  if 
not  exclusively,  are  carried  on  these  processes  of  waste 
and  repair — the  building  up  of  the  new  fabrics,  and 
the  taking  down  and  taking  away  of  the  old,  worn-out, 
or  useless  materials  of  the  body.  Now  the  principal, 
— at  least  the  most  demonstrable — seat  of  action  of 
the  Turkish  Bath,  is  the  capillary  system  ;  its  grand 
effect  is  thoroughly  to  open  and  cleanse  the  capillary 
tubes  and  strainers — to  clear  out  their  obstructions,  and 
freely  to  circulate  the  blood  through  them. 

The  chief  help  Nature  requires  in  most  diseases, 
chronic  and  acute,  is  first,  to  open  the  safety-valves, 
to  rid  the  body  of  its  impurities  ;  then  to  establish  the 
equilibrium  of  the  blood  alike  in  the  central  and  super- 
ficial parts  of  the  body — to  sooth  the  sentient  external 
surface,  and  to  allay  internal  irritation — to  relieve 
laboring  viscera  of  intropelled  fluids  (i.e.,  of  conges- 
tion or  stagnation.)  This  purifying  process,  this 
inward  unloading  of  organs,  this  equable  distribution 


—  69  — 

of   the   blood,    is   the   Bure,    if  oof   necessary,  result 
of  active  determination  to  the  exhalanl  Burfacee,  and 

tli*-    powerful    drain     therefrom     of     fluids    easily    and 

promptly  replaceable. 

Now,  these  aims  jusl  specified  are  the  the  curative 
aims  and  "indications'1  of  all  medical  practice,  no 
matter  what  outward  badge  the  practitioner  may  wear 
— what  sect  he  follows — what  name  he  is  called  by. 
That  which  best  accomplishes  these  aims  must  Deeds 
he  the  best  eunitive  agent.  The  Turkish  Bath,  we 
conceive,  unquestionably  makes  good  this  pretension, 
and  is,  therefore,  the  agent  that  comes  nearest  to  the 
beau  ideal  of  curative  art.  Above  all  other  systems  of 
healing,  it  is  par  excellence  the  equalizer  of  the  circula- 
tion— the  unrivalled  and  unfailing  derivative  to  the 
surface — the  solvent  of  capillary  engorgements — the 
dissipator  of  morbid  accumulations — the  opener  up  of 
the  body's  safety-valves,  and  the  tiusher  of  its  com- 
mon sewers  and  drains  ;  in  short,  the  clean  sweeper-out 
of  all  tilth  blocking  up  the  life-channels  and  poisoning 
the  life-springs. 

These  are  the  direct  and  immediate  effects  of  the 
practice  we  advocate.  The  indirect  and  the  remote 
effects    are,    the    increased    quantity    and    improved 

quality  of  the  secretions,  the  regulation  of  nutrition, 
and,  in  a  word,  the  exaltation  of  vitality  in  the  whole 
organism.  In  this  way  alone,  can  we  rationally  hope 
so  to  aid  and  sustain  nature  as  that  she  will  be  able 
to  throw  off  most  of  the  diseases  that  assail  the  fabric. 
How,  then,  does  the  Turkish  Bath  accomplish  all 
these  salutary  effects?  How  does  it  establish  claim- 
to  efficacy  Buch  as  no  drugs  and  no  system  of  medicine 


—  70  — 

can    pretend   to?     All  this  we  shall  proceed  now  to 
explain. 

The  first  essential  element  of  the  action  of  the  Turk- 
ish Bath  is  hot  air  ;  the  purer  the  atmospheric  oxygen, 
and  the  freer  of  all  admixture  or  dilution,  clearly 
the  better.  Under  this  stimulus,  the  whole  secretory 
activity  of  the  system  is  roused,  transpiration  is  pow- 
erfully increased,  both  from  the  skin  and  lungs,  with 
the  effect  of  imparting  extra  activity  to  the  circulation 
— a  point  sufficiently  established  in  describing  the 
effects  of  exhalation  from  the  surface  of  the  leaf 
in  plants.  This  sanguineous  molimen,  or  determination, 
is  not  merely  on  the  surface  ;  but  it  is  effected  from 
within,  and  to  the  surface  Every  vital,  vegetative,  or 
purely  organic  function  is  stirred  up  to  unwonted 
activity  ;  the  heart  beats  with  renewed  energy,  and  the 
blood  vessels  participate  in  its  augmented  impulse. 
The  skin  at  length  opens  apace,  however  bound,  ob- 
structed, or  reluctant  its  outlets  at  first  may  have 
been.  With  the  pouring  forth  of  perspiration,  and 
thereby  the  absorption  or  neutralization  of  an  immense 
amount  of  the  surplus  or  latent  heat  of  the  body, 
comes  instantaneous  relief — a  subsidence  of  the  whole 
physiological  tumult,  raised  expressly,  as  it  were, 
to  drive  out  an  intruder.  The  large  demand  for  vital 
fluids  set  up  on  the  surface,  and  the  chemico-vital 
elaborations  there  taking  place,  tend  powerfully  to 
unlock  and  draw  away  the  pent  up  blood  of  diseased 
interior  structures,  congested  viscera,  and  the  like. 
The  "  change  of  matter,"  or  "  the  transformation  of 
the  tissues' ' '  over  the  whole  body  is  facilitated  ;  in 
other  words,  the  waste  of  the  animal  structures  is 
largely  augmented.     This  demands  the  quicker  elimin- 


—  71  — 

atioii  of  this  waste.  \\\\\\  the  increased  outpouring  of 
the  structural  debris, — veritable  body  sewage — un- 
healthy elements  imprisoned  within  are  loosened,  se( 
afloat,  and  swept  off  by  this  real  flood-tide  <>f  fluids,4 
speeding  onward  to  the  surface,  like  rivers,  to  be  lu~i 
and  exhaled  in  the  ocean.  The  completeness  <>f  the 
aeration  of  the  blood  corresponds  in  degree  to  t Ik* 
activity  of  exhalation  :  respiration  is  deepened,  and 
the  lungs  are  profoundly  tilled. f  These  actions  now 
described  are  the  most  powerfully  alterative  we  know. 
The  cffert  on  nutrition,  the  correction  of  its  aberra- 
tions, is  not  lonir  to  manifest   itself. 

All  this  profuse  drain  of  liquids  oozing  out  by  every 
pore  of  the  surface,  and  drawn  from  every  depth  and 
cranny  of  the  interior,  justifies  and  calls  for  propor- 
tionate supplies  of  water  by  way  of  drink.  This  new 
fluid  in  its  turn  is  drained  away — thus  literally  washing 
out  the  blood,  dissolving  and  straining  off  its  impuri- 
ties, and  scouring  out  even  the  vessels.  Absorbtion, 
therefore,  is  not  less  quickened  than  elimination. 
Renewal  and  waste  thus  run  a  race  with  recruited  pow- 
ers. No  morbid  humors,  or  even  hard  deposits,  can 
long  stand  this  perturbative,  or  break  up  process,  pro- 


*  Sus/iended  internal  function*  of  various  sorts  have  thus  a  chance  of  being 
set  free  from  fetters  that  may  have  long  enthralled  them;  ami  with  tlii-  real 
given  to  pent-up  nature,  the  bloom  of  youth  is  restored  to  many  a  pallid 
Oheek,  especially  in  the  case  of  young  females.  The  simple  draining-ofi  of 
the  overabundant  watery  elements  of  the  blood  of  the  subjects  in  question  Is 

no  mean  service  rendered  to  the  constitution,  ami  paves  the  way  for  the  till 
ing  of  the  vessels  with  purer  ami  healthier  materials.    01  course,  to  do  these 
oases  full  justice,  they  should  be  under  professional  superintendence. 


*  ITi-nce  the  beneficial  effects  that  may  be  legitimately  expected  in  chronic 
oongeetion,  hepatization,  tubercular  deposits,  etc.,  of  the  pulmonary  organs. 

lint  a-  these  are  the  nicest  of  all  cases  to  tnat.  they  require  careful 
surveillance,  as  \\  eii  as  accurate  diagnosis.  No  random  dosing  \\  ill  do ;  other- 
wise debility,  rather  than  Btrengtb,  may  MOD  result 


—  72  — 

vided  only  it  be  judiciously  repeated,  so  as  not 
to  impair  the  strength,  or  exhaust  the  stamina  of  the 
subject.  In  this  way  excessive  fatty  deposition  is 
broken  up,  melted  down,  and  swilled  out  of  the  sys- 
tem ,  gross  morbid  humors  of  various  kinds,  and  un- 
healthy tissues,  are  absorbed  and  removed.  The  mus- 
cles are  rendered  more  compact ;  the  skin  tenser,  more 
elastic,  more  clear,  more  glossy,  more  satiny,  as  well 
as  more  permeable.  The  same  activity  of  absorption 
which  takes  down  the  paunchy  and  the  bloated,  also 
promotes  the  fattening  of  the  lean  and  ill-nourished, 
and  this,  not  only  because  the  nutrient  materials  in  the 
stomach  are  turned  to  better  account,  but  because 
their  resorption  into  the  circulation  is  more  energetic. 

We  have  made  no  reference  here  to  the  action  of  the 
Turkish  Bath  on  the  Great  Sympathetic  System  of 
Nerves.  The  stimulus  of  heat  must  powerfully  affect 
these  nerves,  as  well  as  the  ganglionic  and  common 
sensory  nerves.  In  like  manner  acts  the  stimulus 
of  cold,  which  is  also  an  integral  and  essential  part  of 
the  Bath.  The  organic  functions,  or  the  purely  vital 
and  vegetative  actions  of  the  economy,  are  much  under 
the  influence  of  the  grand  sympathetic  and  ganglionic 
nerves  ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  we 
could  have  no  increase  of  circulation,  exhalation,  secre- 
tion, etc  ,  without  the  stimulation  of  these  nerves.  It 
may  be  demonstrated  another  day  that  in  this  sympa- 
thetic and  ganglionic  stimulation  lies  the  whole  cura- 
tive virtue  of  the  Turkish  Bath,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the 
forerunner  and  exciting  cause  of  the  augmented  physi- 
ological actions  that  constitute  the  peculiar  phenomena 
of  the  Bath. 

The  shampooing  process,  if  not  an  essential,  is  a 


—  73  — 

usual  accompaniment  of  the  Turkish  Bath.      Skilfully 

ami  moderately  performed,  as  befits  the  l<'--  pliable 
frames  of  (lie  hardier  nations  of  the  West,  it  will 
necessarily  receive  due  attention,  especially  wherever 
the  grand  objecl  of  tin-  Bath  is  to  substitute  exerci 
But  the  subject  simply  requires  allusion  to  here,  not 
elucidation.  At  the  end  of  the  above  described  mace- 
rating ordeal — when  the  muscles,  blood-vessels,  nerves 
and  skin  are  all  relaxed — is  the  proper  time  for  knead- 
ing the  body,  in  the  same  way  as  iron  is  besl  moulded 
and  welded,  and  fashioned,  when  hot — an  apt  simile  of 
Mr.  Urquhart's. 

The  bracing,  fortifying  discipline  of  tepid  and  cold 
ablutions  properly  succeeds  to  the  preliminary  pro- 
cedure of  stirring  up  the  circulating  system,  softening 
the  surface,  opening  the  pores,  and  producing  purga- 
tion and  waste  by  the  skiu.  After  thus  giving  vent  to 
effete  matters,  or  retained  excretions,  this  conclusion 
of  the  process  and  closure  of  the  pores,  is  a  sine  </"*> 
non  of  the  Turkish  Bath — following  up  and  confirming 
it-  benefits.  Without  this  finale,  its  efficacy  would  be 
impaired,  if  not  forfeited  or  lost,  for  a  great  many 
subjects.  The  unreflecting,  or  the  totally  inexper- 
ienced, may  shrink  at  the  idea  of  this  sudden  transition 
from  high  temperature  to  a  col'd  bath,  as  something 
dreadful  to  bear  or  dangerous  to  practice.  But  it  is 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  The  fear  is  a  fallacy  ; 
the  apprehension  entirely  groundless.  On  the  con- 
trary the  application  of  cold,  after  perspiration  in  this 
fashion  (passive)  is  not  only  not  dangerous,  but  it  is 
highly  salutary  and  refreshing — exhilarating,  in  truth, 
beyond  any  previous  conception  of  the  uninitiated. 


—  74  — 

This  conclusive  operation  is  based  on  the  soundest 
physiology,  and  is  not  less  needful  and  appropriate 
than  it  is  grateful  to  the  patient.  A  general  macera- 
tion of  the  tissues  has  been  effected.  The  vessels,  and 
nerves,  and  skin,  have  been  all  relaxed  from  the  heat 
and  stimulation  they  have  been  subjected  to,  and  from 
the  copious  floods  that  have  oozed  through  them.  A 
virtual  depletion  has  been  effected ,  the  only  depletion 
that  is  sound  and  safe.  Now,  then,  is  demanded,  and 
is  borne,  the  shock — the  bracing  power  of  cold.  By 
this  the  cerebro-spinal  and  ganglionic  nerves  have  tem- 
porary excess  of  vitality  at  once  imparted  to  them — a 
veritable  electric  thrill  is  felt.  A  rush  of  blood 
is  determined  to  the  surface,  to  replace  the  heat 
abstracted.  The  effect  of  this  is  to  increase  and  fix 
the  circulation  in  the  skin,  thus  rousing  the  capillary 
actions  of  the  surface  at  the  expense  of  the  interior ; 
promoting  thereby  the  dispersal  of  congestions,  and 
establishing  the  sanguineous  equilibrium  of  the  central 
and  superficial  parts  of  the  body.  All  this  brings 
about  a  rapid  "transformation  of  the  tissues,"  the 
breaking  up,  absorption,  and  swilling  out  of  old, 
decayed  or  diseased  matters,  and  the  deposition  of 
new.  The  normal,  or  physiological  activity  of  the 
vital  functions  is  increased — the  vis  vitoe  exalted  every- 
where. The  more  freely  the  skin  has  been  acting,  the 
larger  the  flow  of  fluids,  the  greater  will  be  the  cold 
that  is  desired  ;  the  better  will  it  be  borne  ;  the  more 
potent  will  be  the  stimulus  it  affords  ;  the  more  per- 
manent the  re-action  that  will  ensue ;  the  more 
decided,  in  short,  its  curative  results.  Hence  the  feel- 
ing; of  immense  relief  and  solace,  of  renovated  mental 


and  corporeal  vigor,  after  a  process  that,  t"  the  super- 
ficial thinker,  seems  exhausting. 

The  phenomena  above  described  are  vaguely  ex- 
pressed by  the  word  reaction.  In  this  reaction  itself 
lies  a  great  aim  and  agency  of  cure.  To  be  able 
to  react  well  is  the  grand  help  nature  requires  in  a 
majority  of  diseases.  The  body  corporeal  then  does 
for  itself,  for  its  enemies  within,  what  the  body  politic 
docs  for  itself  when  it  rises  en  masse  to  repel  its 
enemies  without.  In  both  cases,  the  effect  is  at  least 
to  i|iiell  or  appease  internal  irritations,  dissensions  and 
tumults  ! 

By  the  discipline  of  the  Bath,  any  over-sensitivene-.- 
or  morbid  sensibility  of  the  skin  becomes  so  blunted, 
its  tissues  are  so  braced  and  fortified,  its  natural 
functions  so  exalted,  as  to  bear  with  impunity  any 
transitions  of  temperature,  and  the  more  extreme, 
often  the  more  agreeable  ;  as  also  the  more  hardening 
the  effect.  With  the  restoration  of  a  high  condition 
of  the  skin,  coincides  the  return  of  healthy  functions 
in  the  mucous  linings,  whether  of  the  lungs  or  of  the 
alimentary  canal.  In  this  way  persons  that  are  sub- 
ject, on  slight  exposure,  to  catarrh,  influenza,  bron- 
chitis, diarrhoea,  etc.,  get  case-hardened  to  atmospheric 
variations,  and  even  bear  draughts  with  impunity. 

The  allegation  that  perspiration  is  a  weakening  pro- 
cess is  another  fallacy  that  hardly  needs  demolition. 
Sweating,  as  accomplished  by  drugs  (sudorifics),  we 
admit,  is  a  debilitating  drain.  So  is  the  vapor  bath  as 
used  in  the  bungling  way  common  in  our  old  bath 
establishments.  Hut  properly  evoked,  and  followed 
by  tepid  and  then  cold  ablutions,  it  is.  on  the  contrary. 


—  76  — 

highly  tonic  and  invigorating.  In  the  Turkish  Bath, 
the  patient  lies  full-stretched,  in  perfect  repose,  on 
couch,  bench,  or  dureta.  Nothing  of  the  normal  con- 
stituents of  the  body  is  abstracted  save  the  saline  and 
watery  portions  of  the  blood.  The  water  is  replaced 
by  absorption  from  the  stomach  as  rapidly  as  it  is 
given  out ;  for,  when  the  drain  comes  to  be  excessive, 
the  supply  is  proportionate.  And  here,  be  it  well 
observed,  it  is  only  in  very  pure  systems  that  the 
water,  welling  out  from  the  pores,  comes  away  pure. 
It  is  far  otherwise  when  the  body  is  impure.  Not  only 
the  water  oozed  out  by  the  pores,  but  the  atmosphere 
all  around  is  tainted  by  the  eliminated  products  and 
exhalations  of  disease.  This  happens  in  bad  cases  of 
chronic  maladies,  characterized  by  corrupt  humors, 
constitutional  taints,  etc.,  i.  e.,  whenever  the  secreting 
and  excreting  functions  are  materially  interfered  with  ; 
whenever,  in  short,  substances  are  retained  either  in 
the  highways  or  the  byways  of  the  circulation  that 
should  have  been  eliminated.  These  constitute  a  very 
formidable,  as  a  very  palpable  and  intelligible  mate- 
ries  morbi.  In  granular  kidney  ( Bright' s  Disease) 
these  odors  in  the  calidarium  are  occasionally  some- 
thing dreadful.  The  easy  exit  afforded  to  these  pent- 
up  elements  of  disease  by  the  powerful  drains  and 
perturbative  action  of  the  Turkish  Bath  is,  beyond  all 
contradiction,  the  source  of  its  immediate  and  perma- 
nent benefits.  Hence,  if  skilfully  wielded,  the  reputa- 
tion it  is  likely  to  achieve  in  the  cure  of  visceral 
congestions,  morbid  accumulations  and  obstructions, 
and  in  blood-taints,  etc. 

If  the  Bath  fails,  nothing  else  will  avail  to  transfer 
to   the    robbed,    emptied,  shrivelled,    parchment-like 


—  77  — 

surface  <>f  the  body,  blood  long  pent-up  in  a  torpid 
liver,  an  engorged  spleen,  a  congested  mucous  mem- 
brane, or  a  hepatized  Lung.  1>\  its  outlet  of  peccant 
matters  if  gives  immediate  relief  to  malaise,  misery 
and  fatigue.  Increased  absorption  and  elimination 
remarkably  improve  the  appetite,  and  promote  diges- 
tion and  nutrition;  healthier  solids  and  fluids  arc 
formed  than  those  that  are  thrown  out  or  wasted 
down.  Hence,  the  Turkish  Bath  tills  up  the  skinny  or 
flabby,  and  reduces  the  obese,  the  paunchy,  and  the 
plethoric. 

THE     LEGITIMATE     MEDICAL     DOMAIN     OF     THE    TURKISH 
BATH ITS    PRACTICAL    APPLICATIONS. 

The  Turkish  Bath  is  the  truest  and  best  anti-spas- 
modic. In  cramps  of  all  degrees  ;  in  spasms  of  the 
muscles  of  the  bowels,  which  are  the  source  of  the 
pains  called  colic  ;  in  spasms  of  the  gall-bladder  and 
gall-ducts  ;  in  pains  in  the  region  of  the  kidneys,  or 
lumbago  ;  in  spasms  of  the  bronchial  tubes  (asthma)  ; 
even  in  lock-jaw  and  tetanus,  its  use  is  a  legitimate 
and  hopeful  experiment  at  least.  Between  the  com- 
bined effects  of  the  hot  room  and  cold  douche,  spasms 
of  any  sort  will  have  a  better  chance  of  yielding  than 
under  any  other  mode  of  treatment;  but  very  hot 
fomentations  with  flannel  must  be  conjoined.  In  any 
case,  the  tedious  convalescence,  the  usual  result  of  the 
powerful  medicines  swallowed  to  overcome  spasms, 
will  be  saved. 

The  Bath  presents  a  valuable  resource  in  the  reduc- 
tion of  dislocations,  and  of  strangulated  hernial  tumors 
(ruptures ). 


—  78  — 

The  Bath  will  be  of  the  greatest  utility  in  passive 
•diseased  states,  wherever  action  is  below  par,  as  in  the 
very  commencement  of  accute  diseases,  in  the  premoni- 
tory stage  of  fevers  and  inflammations — the  stage  of 
depression  of  power — in  the  congestive  stages  of 
eruptive  diseases  (measles,  scarlet  fever,  small  pox, 
etc.,)  wherever,  in  short,  collapse  takes  place  and  the 
symptoms  show  retrocession  of  the  fluids  from  the 
surface  to  the  interior ;  ia  other  words,  wherever  con- 
gestion of  vital  organs  exists  or  is  apprehended. 

The  Turkish  Bath,  for  this  reason,  is  an  unquestion- 
able resource  in  cholera — will  be,  perhaps,  its  grand 
remedy  in  the  first  stage.  Having  already  spoken  at 
large  of  this  disease,  as  likely  to  be  influenced  by  the 
Turkish  Bath,  we  need  not  enlarge  here. 

The  Turkish  Bath  should  be  at  once  had  recourse  to 
in  the  collapse,  shivering  uneasy  feelings  and  depressed 
spirits  that  follow  a  decided  chill  of  the  surface,  when 
perspiring  freely  ;  as,  for  example,  when  getting  wet 
in  an  exhausting  journey,  or  from  the  absorption  into 
the  lungs  of  an  infectious  miasm — a  dose  of  which  a 
man  often  gets  in  standing  over  an  open  drain.  In  all 
these  cases,  before  active  irritation  or  acute  inflamma- 
tory symptoms  have  manifested  themselves,  there  is 
every  reason  to  hope  that  many  diseases  would  be 
strangled  (to  use  the  favorite  phrase  of  French  prac- 
titioners) at  the  very  off-go,  and  thus  many  premature 
deaths,  often  of  the  most  illustrious  personages,  would 
be  prevented.  Thus  died  the  Duke  of  Kent!  Thus 
died  George  Washington  !  Thus  died  Count  Mirabeau  ! 
and  thousands  of  others. 

In    purely  nervous    irritations    of  the    heart,   or  in 


—  79  — 

those  conueoted  with  organic  disease,  in  simple  palpita- 
tions; 'n  angina  pectoris,  the  bol  room  actually  does 
quiel  the  circulation,  and  would  do  so  -till  more 
remarkably,  we  think.  If  the  cold  or  hot  compress, 
according  to  circumstances,  were  kepi  on  the  chesl  and 
often  refreshed. 

In  the  case  <>f  local  spasms,  hoi  flannel  fomentations 

applied  to  the  scats  of  suffering  while  in  the  tepidarium 
would  probably  facilitate  their  solution. 

The  Turkish  bath  will  diminish  the  liability  to  take 
infections  diseases.  This  often  depends  upon  a  habitu- 
ally sluggish  condition  of  the  kidneys,  with  marked 
and  scant  secretion.  The  powerful  revulsion  to  the 
surface  and  drain  of  fluids  by  the  skin,  operated  l>v  the 
Hath,  effectually  takes  the  strain  off  the  kidneys — 
disgorging  them,  and,  in  fact,  almost  performing  their 
functions  ! 

In  "  Bright' S  Disease,*'  in  diabetes,  in  gout  and 
rheumatism,  and  in  all  kidney  diseases,  with  excess  of 
uric  acid  and  its  salts,  the  practice  that  carries  off  the 
corporeal  debris  by  the  skin — and  not  l>y  irritant  drugs 
acting  on  the  kidneys  or  the  bowels — is  the  true  aii 

and  science  of  their  (aire.     In  BUch  cases  wat<  r-dlinking 

during  the  bath  is  strenuously  to  be  insisted  upon, 
inasmuch  as  the  excess  of  water  washes  out  a  cor- 
responding proportion  of  solid  constituents.  Thus 
ColchlCUm,   or    acetate    or    nitrate   of   potash,     may    be 

superseded. 

In  Ague,  the  Turkish  Bath  offers  the  most  feasible 
remedy,  as  being  a  disease  resulting  from  diminished 
secretion  of  the  solids  -trained  off  l»v  the  kidneys.    The 


—  80  — 

probability  is,  therefore,  that  a  highly  active  state  of 
the  cutaneous  functions  would  eliminate  these  solid 
matters  of  the  urine  through  the  surface,  even  as  we 
find  an  eczematous  eruption  occasionally  frosted  over 
with  crystals  of  urate  of  soda. 

In  tic-do  lour  eux,  or  neuralgia,  the  Bath  promises 
great  things. 

Skin  diseases  will  most  probably  be  removed  by  a 
very  summary  process  in  the  Bath,  according  to  all 
experience  hitherto.  * 

In  irritative  congestions  of  the  wind-pipe,  from  pub- 
lic speaking  ("preachers'  throat,"  so-called,)  the 
Turkish  Bath  can  hardly  fail  to  be  pre-eminently 
successful ;  for  this  disease  is  usually  only  symptom- 
atic of  a  morbid  condition  of  the  skin  and  digestive 
organs. 

In  acute  affections  of  the  throat  and  tonsils,  even  in 
croup  and  diphtheria,  the  Bath  will  almost  invariably 
save  life. 

In  consumption,  the  Turkish  Bath,  fairly  tested, 
will,  on  the  clearest  abstract  grounds,  as  well  as  on 
the  showing  of  facts,  produce  the  greatest  ratio  of  ar- 
rests of  the  disease.  The  noxious  acids  of  the 
alimentary  canal  are  thereby  drained  out  of  the  sys- 
tem, the  air-cells  of  .the  lungs  are  dilated,  pulmonary 
secretions  are  dried  up,  internal  congestions  are  dis- 
solved and  dissipated,  the  relaxed  skin  braced,  appe- 
tite promoted,  night  perspirations  checked,  the  nox- 
ious chills  and  shivering  at  once  cut  short,  and  refresh- 
ing sleep  procured. 


—  81  — 

In  digestive  derangements  characterized  by  intense 
acidity,  the  Turkish  Bath  offers  :i  greal  resource,  as 
oozing  out  through  the  skin  the  excess  of  lactic  acid, 
which  often  lies  at  the  root  of  the  evils  of  dyspepsia. 

In  chronic  bronchitis,  and  emphysema  of  the  lungs, 
and  in  the  dry  catarrh  of  the  aged,  the  Turkish  Bath 
i-  worthy  of  extensive  trial. 

In  dropsies,  both  of  the  shut  cavities  of  the  bowels 
and  chest,  and  the  exterior  tissues,  as   well  as   from 

diseased  kidney.-,  the  Turkish  Bath  is  precisely  suited 

and  will  work  wonders — as  taking  the  tension  off  the 
veins — the  effusion  of  water  being  only  a  vicarious 
effort  to  relieve  the  plethora  of  the  congested  vc.-i-U. 

In  tympanitis  and  other  cases  of  abnormal  secretion 
of  gas  in  the  stomach  and  intestines,  the  Bath  will 
promote  the  extrication  of  the  gaseous  exhalation,  or 
suppress  directly  its  formation. 

In  chronic  liver  disease,  in  enlargement  of  the  liver, 
and  jaundice,  etc.,  the  Turkish  Bath  will  he  found  the 
most  potent  agent  of  cure,  as  demonstrated  by  the 
large  success  of  the  much  inferior  hydropathic  instru- 
ments of  sweating  used  in  such  cases. 

In  gout  and  rheumatism  the  Bath  will  prove  itself 
the  speediest  and  best    remedy. 

In  syphilis  and  mercurial  diseases  ;  in  diseases  arising 
from  the  abuse  of  treatment,  the  same  hydropathic 
experience  calls  for  an  extensive  use  of  the  Turkish 
Bath.  Tin'  medicated  vapor  bat  lis  of  the  Hopital  de 
M"</>\  in  Paris,  are  less  efficient  attempts  in  the 
direction  of  the  Turkish  Bath. 


—  82  — 

Tn  the  large  and  too  common  and  distressing  class 
of  uterine  diseases,  the  Turkish  Bath  will  supersede,  to 
a  very  large  extent,  the  often  very  tedious  and  (to  the 
constitution)  expensive  medication,  by  means  of  caus- 
tic and  the  knife,  mechanical  helps,  etc. 

Cancer  has  now,  perhaps,  found  its  antidote  in  the 
Turkish  Bath.  Mr.  Urquhart  communicates  a  remarka- 
ble case  of  a  lady  who  came  to  him  in  a  desperate  and 
hopeless  condition,  after  the  cancer  had  once  been 
excised,  and  who  was  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able  to 
walk  live  miles.  We  hope  the  profession  will  give  a 
fair  trial  to  this  remedy  in  a  disease  wherein  they  ad- 
mit the  powerlessness  of  all  ordinary  agency. 

The  Turkish  Bath  will  take  down,  summarily  and 
safely,  excessive  obesity,  literally  melting  down  and 
oozing  out  the  oil  of  over-abundant  adipose  tissues ; 
draining,  as  it  were,  the  muscular  fibres  of  this 
paralyzing  accompaniment,  as  well  as  thereb}^  increas- 
ing the  tone  and  motor-power  of  these  fibres.  The 
Bath  promotes  the  nutrition  of  the  ill-nourished,  in- 
creasing the  appetite  in  proportion  as  it  increases 
absorbtion. 

In  diarrhoea,  dysentery,  etc.,  the  Bath  will  be  the  curei 
par  excellence;     as   determining  excessive   action   and 
diversion  of  the  fluids  from  the  intestinal  lining  to  the 
skin,  as  well  as  soothing  ganglionic  irritation. 

We  are  inclined  to  hope  that  the  Turkish  Bath  will 
prove  itself  the  nearest  thing  to  a  specific  for  hydro- 
phobia.    If  anything  will  ooze  out  or  neutralize  the  1 
virus, once  perfectly  developed,  it  will  be  the  action  of] 
the  highest  temperature  that  can  be  borne.     Last  cen-  \ 


—  83  — 

tury  it  was  the  custom,  in  Borne  parts  of  Scotland,  to 
smother  these  unhappy  victims,  by  placing  one  feather 
bed  upon  another,  the  patienl  between,  and  a  party  of 
women  sitting  all  around  <>n  theedgesof  the  bed.     On 

one  of  these  occasions,  within  the  me r\   of  a  living 

individual,  a  little  boy  was  pul  in  to  be  30  strangled. 
After  :i  quarter  of  an  hour,  when  they  thoughl  he  was 
(lend,  to  the  surprise  of  the  operators,  in  taking  off  t  he 
upper  bed,  he  leaped  up  out  of  a  pool  of  perspiration 
in  the  center  of  the  bed,  where  lie  lay, and  said  he  fell 
quite  well — indeed  he  was  cured  !  This  is  an  encour- 
aging fact  for  the  trial  of  the  Turkish  Bath. 

The  Turkish  Bath  will  undoubtedly  prove  itself  the 
best   corrector  of  what   has  been  designated  the  civic 

cachexia,  the  vitiated  habit  of  body  bred  by  hard 
town  life,  whether  it  be  the  life  of  luxury  or  the 
life  of  labor — a  nameless,  nondescript  Condition  of  the 
solids  and  fluids,  impairing  much,  if  not  quite  the 
relish  of  life,  rendering  vapid  its  enjoyments;  and  all 
this  the  result  of  over-excited  brain,  over-worked  stom- 
ach, over-gorged  vessels,  and  under-worked  limits, 
lungs  and  skin — the  effect,  in  a  word,  of  closed  safety- 
valve-. 

The  Turkish  Bath  will  become  an  indispensable  sub- 
stitute for  exercise  to  three  large  classes  of  people: 
Lst,  the  indolent  and  luxurious,  who  take  advantage  of 
their  privilege,  but  who  find  it,  alas!  anything  but  a 
blessing  to  be  exempt  from  the  primal  curse;  2nd,  to 
the  brain-toiling,  city-pent  masses,  the  keepers  at 
home,  the  men  of  literature  and  science,  the  drudges 
of  the  desk,  the  prisoners  of  the  counter,  or  the  slaves 
of  the  factory;     3d,   to  valetudinarian  multitude-,  not 


—  84  — 

ill  enough  to  be  loosened  from  the  cares  of  business — 
"  which  thousands,  once  chained  to,  quit  no  more," — 
but  too  ill  for  personal  comfort,  and  for  the  comfort 
likewise  of  those  around  them  ;  the  hypochondriac,  the 
bilious,  the  dyspeptic,  the  bloated,  the  unwieldy,  the 
asthmatic,  the  lame,  and  the  lazy. 


From  "Winter  and  its  Dangers." 

o 
By  I>r.  Hamilton  Osgood,  •>*    \r\\   York. 


I  must  confess  to  a  prejudice  against  indiscriminaU 
use  of  the  Turkish  Bath  in  winter,  especially  in  the 
rigorous  climate  of  the  northern  States,  unless  one  can 
at  once  go  to  bed  under  the  same  roof.  T<>  take  such  a 
hath  in  cold  weather,  and  immediately  after  era  home 
through  a  freeziug  air,  is  very  hazardous,  save  in  the 
few  exceptions  which  are  admitted  by  even  stringent 
rule,  ruder  the  advice  and  personal  direction  of  a 
physician,  the  Turkish  Bath,  as  I  am  well  aware,  has 
often  accomplished  a  good  and  desired  purpose.  Mv 
objection  chiefly  refers  to  unadvised  use  of  it  in  winter. 
While  it  lasts,  it  i-  a  luxurious  delight  :  but  the  con- 
dition in  which  it  leaves  the  bather  is  what  make-  it 
dangerous.  Notwithstanding  the  cold  affusion  which 
follows  the  main  hath,  the  body  i-  left  in  a  state  of 
active  perspiration,  which  lasts  so  Ion--  that  the  ma- 
jority have  not  time  to  wait  for  its  disappearance. 
This  i-  what  make-  the  hath  questionable  in  winter.  I 
have  no  objection  to  offer  to  it  when  taken  in  summer, 
if  due  care  he  exercised  and  the  bather  be  strong 
enough  to  hear  it-  exhausting  effect-.  I  have  known 
individuals  to  faint  while  the  bath  was  in  progress. 
Delicate  and  plethoric  people,  likewise  those  whose 
lungs  or  hear;-  are  weak,  should  never  make  use  of  it. 


—  86  — 

It  is  true  there  is  a  great  temptation  in  it,  for  its 
temporary  effects  are  delicious,  and  it  leaves  the  skin 
admirably  purified.  Indeed,  during  a  first  experience 
in  a  Turkish  Bath,  one  is  involuntarily  reminded  of 
Sidney  Smith's  letter  from  a  hot  German  bath.  "They 
have  already  scraped  enough  off  me,"  he  wrote,  "to 
make  a  curate." 

But  recently,  a  well-known  gentleman  of  Boston 
invited  a  friend  to  go  with  him  to  see  how  quickly  he 
would  rid  himself  of  a  cold.  "  I  am  perfectly  stiffened 
by  this  cold,"  he  said.  "  Nothing  but  a  Turkish  Bath 
will  break  it  up."  It  was  winter  season,  for  it  is  then 
the  people  are  induced  to  use  this  bath  as  a  remedy. 
The  gentleman  took  his  bath,  and  for  nearly  a  month 
was  confined  to  his  chamber.  This  has  been  my  inva- 
riable experience  when  I  have  tried  to  leave  a  cold  in  a 
Turkish  Bath.  The  cold  was  always  worse:  and  I 
would  earnestly  impress  upon  my  readers  the  danger 
of  this  form  of  bath  in  winter,  unless  it  be  used  in  a 
mild  climate,  or  under  the  eye  of  a  physician. 


OUR    REPLY. 

Some  very  intelligent  physicians  could  not  be  more 
ignorant  than  they  are  of  the  real  character  and  claim 
of  the  Turkish  Bath  if  they  had  made  the  acquirement 
of  that  ignorance  a  solemn  professional  duty.  An 
illustration  of  the  truth  of  this  remark  may  be  found 
in  a  very  valuable  and  admirable  little  book  by  Doctor 
Hamilton  Osgood,  of  New  York,  from  which  the  above 
article  was  taken.  This  work  is  one  of  the  series  of 
American  Health  Primers,  and,  while  it  contains  much 


—  87—- 

th.it  is  of  the  utmosj  value  to  the  seekers  after  health, 
presents  some  conclusions  respecting  the  effects  of  the 
Turkish  Bath  which  reveal  the  presence  and  influence 
of  ■••  prejudice  which  is  as  unphilosophical  as  it  is  unpro- 
fessional, The  author  make-  thai  common  mistake 
into  which  the  uneducated  arc  constantly  entrapped, 
pf  believing  thai  two  facts  stand  necessarily  in  the 
relation  <>t'  cause  and  effect,  when  they  may  exisl  coiu- 
ciden tally.  A  shower  of  rain  may  follow  a  fervenl 
prayer,  l>ut  it  is  by  no  means  clear  thai  these  two  facts 
sustain  to  each  other  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect. 
In  truth,  it  is  becoming  plain  to  an  increasingly  large 
number  of  thoughtful  men  that  they  do  no1  sustain 
such  a  relation.  The  savage  attempts,  with  noise  and 
smoke,  to  drive  away  the  demon  which  is  devouring 
the  sue  during  an  eclipse,  and  it  i-  perfectly  dear  to 
the  savage  that  he  has  succeeded  in  his  benevolent 
object,  when  the  great  orb  emerges  from  his  obscurity 
unharmed.  But  no  civilized  man  shares  this  convic- 
tion. The  habit  of  mind  to  which  I  have  referred 
(and  which  i.s  so  viciously  illogical )  has  done  more  than 
any  one  single  "cause  to  nourish  superstition.  Thirteen 
people  sit  down  to  dinner  :  one  of  the  company  dies 
before  the  year  is  closed.  Ergo,  Providence  objects 
to  a  party  of  thirteen  !  A  ship  leaves  port  on  Friday, 
and  fails  to  reach  its  destination.  It  is  perfectly  clear 
that  voyage  should  not  he  begun  on  that  day.  We 
all  remember  the  sensible  reply  made  by  Hotspur  to 
haughty  G-lendower  The  proud  Welshman  asserts 
that  he  i-  no  common  man,  because  nature  was  con- 
vulsed at  his  birth.  Percy  responds,  with  the  declara- 
tion, that  t  hot'  nat ural  convulsions  would  have  occurred 
if  only   his    motJu  r's   cat   had    kittened.      Now,   the 


—  88  — 

pertinency  of  all  this  will  appear  when  we  read  Dr. 
Osgood's  wise  conclusions  touching  the  Turkish  Bath. 
He  says  :  "I  have  known  individuals  to  faint  while  the 
bath  was  in  progress."  So  have  we.  We  have  known 
individuals  to  faint  while  in  church  !  Comment :  Men 
go  to  church,  because  there  is  something  in  the  charac- 
ter of  things  social  almost  certain  to  produce  dizziness 
and  faintness  !  This  is,  really,  as  logical  as  the  Doctor's 
conclusion.  Can  the  author  show,  or  has  it  been 
shown,  that  the  effect  described  and  the  cause  assigned 
bear  any  necessary  relationship  ?  Why  should  a  man 
faint  in  the  Bath  ?  In  well-constructed  baths  the  ven- 
tilation is  perfect  and  the  blood  receives  its  due  amount 
of  oxygen.  Men  are  affected  injuriously  by  heat — as 
in  the  case  of  sun- stroke — only  when  the  process  of 
healthy  perspiration  has  been  arrested.  If  a  man  goes 
into  the  bath  with  a  stomach  engorged  with  undigested 
food,  under  a  state  of  great  nervous  excitement,  he 
may  faint  in  the  bath.  So,  a  man  may  be  violently 
attacked  with  nauseau  who  eats  immoderately  of  roast 
beef  and  potatoes,  but  such  a  result  does  not  impeach 
the  healthfulness  and  nutritiousness  of  these  articles 
of  food.  Nobod}^  claims  that  one  may  foolishly  violate 
all  these  rational  and  obviously  proper  conditions  under 
which  a  bath  should  be  taken,  and  then  justly  expect 
benefit  from  the  remedy.  How  many  of  Dr.  Osgood's 
patients  would  recover  if  they  sought  his  assistance 
and  advice  under  the  same  intelligent  conditions?  It 
may  do  no  harm  to  baptize  a  man  in  ice-cold  water, 
but  if  the  advice  of  the  old  Deacon  should  be  followed 
and  some  hardened  sinner,  newly  converted,  be 
"  anchored  out"  over  night,  he  would  probably  "  go 
to  his  reward  "  before  morning.     Yet,  his  fate  would 


_  89  — 

present  1 awful  warning"  against  the  judicious  use 

of  cold  water.  l>r  Osgood  says:  "To  take  such  a 
bath  in  cold  weather,  and  immediately  after  go  borne 
through  a  freezing  air,  is  \»t\  hazardous."  We  may 
add,  also,  thai  to  gel  oul  of  a  warm  bed  in  your  night- 
dress and  attempt  to  hold  a  St.  Bernard  dog  in  a  snow 
bank  till  he  freezes  to  death,  ia  more  hazardous  to  you 
than  to  the  dog!  This  fact  is  not  generally  recognized 
l>v  the  medical  faculty  !  Why  go  into  the  freezing  air 
immediately?  If  simply  t<>  prove  the  non-beneficial 
effects  of  the  bath,  you  need  not  subject  yourself  to 
that  inconvenience  in  order  to  bring  us  to  conviction. 
We  have  never  defended  the  abuse  of  the  Hath,  or  the 
abuse  of  any  of  Heaven's  blessings. 

Dr.  Osgood  says  :  ••  Under  the  advice  and  personal 
direction  of  a  physician,  the  Turkish  Bath  has 

often  accomplished  a  good  and  desired  purpose.  My 
objection  chiefly  refers  to  the  unadvised  use  of  it  in 
winter,     *  *     *     notwithstanding  the  cold  affu- 

sion which  follow-  the  main  hath,  the  body  is  left  in  a 
state  of  active  perspiration,  which  lasts  so  long  that 
the  majority  have  not  time  to  wait  for  it-  disappear- 
ance." 

Now  the  sufficient  answer  to  all  this  nonsense — unpar- 
donable in  ai,  educated  physician — is  found  in  the 
presentation  of  facts,  not  the  investigation  of  theories. 
"Why  does' nt  a  two-pound  fish  increase  the  weight  of  a 
bucket  of  water?*"  asks  the  scientific  theorist.  "Well," 
answers  Franklin,  "  let  us  be  sure  of  the  fact  before 
we  trouble  ourselves  with  the  the  theory 

The  facts — and  stubborn  ones  there  are — we  have  t" 
present  are  these:     We  give  from  500  to  700  baths  a 


—  90  — 

month  more  in  winter  than  in  summer.  The  large 
part  of  these  bathers  are  regular  customers,  some  of 
them  coming  as  frequently  as  once  a  day,  though  the 
majority  average  perhaps  twice  a  week.  None  of 
these  people  (if  they  have  any  sense)  go  "immediately 
into  the  freezing  air,"  upon  leaving  the  hands  of  the 
attendant.  But  they  find,  almost  invariably,  that  the 
"  state  of  active  perspiration  "  does  not  extend  beyond 
thirty  minutes,  and  generally  in  less  than  forty-five 
minutes  they  are  ready  to  face  the  "freezing  air"  with 
impunity.  The  "  exhausting  effects  "  of  the  Bath,  of 
which  Dr.  Osgood  speaks,  are  mainly  experienced  by 
those  who  study  the  treatment  in  shallow  medical 
treatises  !  Why  should  it  exhaust  a  man  to  health- 
fully stimulate  the  circulation,  bring  the  blood  to  the 
surface,  and  make  the  skin  do  part  of  its  work,  so  fre- 
quently crowded  upon  the  kidneys  and  the  liver?  We 
have  in  our  Bath  day  after  day,  in  winter,  all  kinds 
and  types  of  people.  Fat  people,  lean  people,  people 
with  strong  lungs,  people  with  weak  lungs,  fresh 
and  sallow  skinned  people.  They  come  again  and  again 
— have  been  coming  regularly  for  years,  and  would 
never  have  suspected  the  deleterious  effects  of  the 
Bath,  had  it  not  been  for  the  scientific  conclusion  of 
this  little  book.  "  Verily,"  says  a  grave  philosopher, 
"  the  only  people  who  know  how  to  bring  up  children, 
never  have  any."  So  it  is  plain  that  the  only  people 
who  suffer  from  the  ' '  exhausting  effects  ' '  of  the 
Turkish  Baths,  never  use  them! 

See  another  brilliant  conclusion  to  which  Dr.  Osgood 
has  arrived.  He  says  :  "A  gentleman  of  Boston  had 
a  cold,  and  he  invited  a  friend  to  go  to  the  Turkish 
Bath  with  him  to  see  how  quickly  he  could  cure  this 


—  ill  — 

cold.  This  gentleman  took  bis  bath.  For  nearly  << 
mouth  he  was  confined  to  his  chamber I "  A  sensible 
person  would  come  to  this  conclusion :  This  gentle- 
man had  frequently  cured  :t  cold  by  the  use  of  the 
bath,  or  else  he  would  not  have  been  ao  confident 
of  its  efficacy,  and  on  this  occasion  om  bath  did  not 
avert  a  months  sickness,  which  circumstances  in  no 
way  connected  with  the  Bath,  had  rendered  inevitable. 
We  would  call  Dr.  Osgood's  attention  to  the  Btory  of 
the  farmer  who  had  eaten  Pour  consecutive  meals 
in  one  day  of  roast  pork,  mince  pie  and  toasted  cheese, 
and  just  before  going  to  bed  he  consumed  four  roasted 
apples.  During  the  night  he  was  brought  to  theverge 
of  the  grave  with  cramp  colic,  and  the  next  morning 
he  registered  a  solemn  vow  to  Heaven,  that  he  would 
never  touch  another  roasted  apple  as  long  as  he  lived  ! 
The  doctor  may  make  the  application. 


THE   TURKISH    BATH. 


This  bracing  and  depurating  bath  combines  many  of 
the  properties  of  the  hot  and  cold  bath.  The  body, 
subjected  to  great  heat,  is  made  to  perspire  copiously. 
If  the  bath  ended  here,  more  or  less  weakness  would 
ensue  ;  but  at  this  stage  the  free  application  of  cold 
water  stimulates  and  braces  the  body,  and  produces 
the  tonic  effects  of  the  cold  bath  At  each  stage  of 
the  process,  the  Turkish  Bath  cleanses  the  system  ;  the 
perspiration  carrying  off,  and  the  cold  consuming,  by 
increased  oxydation,  many  effete  and  noxious  sub- 
stances in  the  blood.  The  baths,  says  Dr.  Goolden, 
are  useful  in  gout,  rheumatism,  sciatica,  Bright' s  dis- 
ease, escema,  and  psoriasis  :  they  benefit  bronchitis, 
the  cough  of  phthisis,  the  aching  of  the  muscles  from 
unusual  exertion,  pains  in  the  seat  of  old  wounds, 
colds  in  the  head,  quinsies,  and  common  winter 
coughs. 

It  is  not  amiss  here  tov caution  persons  prone  to  colds, 
that  the  habit  of  over-clothing  increases  this  liability. 
This  cold-catching  tendency  may  be  obviated  by  using 
a  moderate  amount  of  clothing,  taking  a  cold  sponge- 
bath  every  morning,  an  occasional  wet-sheet  packing, 
or  the  Turkish  Bath  once  or  twice  a  week. 

On  catching  cold,  a  patient  with  lungs  previous^ 
healthy,  becomes  troubled  for  some  time  with  chronic 


_<♦;}_ 

catarrh,  accompanied  by  considerable  expectoration 
and  some  shortness  and  oppression  of  breathing.  In 
sudi  a  case,  the  Turkish  Bath  generally  affords  prompt 
and  ureal  relief ,  checking  the  expectoration  and  easing 
the  breathing.  In  bronchial  asthma  and  emphysema- 
tous asthma,  a  course  of  Turkish  Baths,  say  one  every 
second  or  third  day,  is  very  useful;  this  subdues 
chronic  bronchitis  and  renders  the  patient  less  liable  to 
catch  cold.  A  large  chamois  leather  waistcoat  reach- 
ing low  down  the  body  and  anus,  and  worn  over  the 
flannel,  affords  great  relief  in  bronchial  asthma  and 
emphysematous  bronchitis.  This  jacket  is  extremely 
warm  and  protects  the  chest  against  the  vicissitudes  of 
the  weather.  It  is  a  nasty  practice  to  wear  it  next  the 
skin. 

At  the  commencement  of  a  feverish  cold,  a  Turkish 
Bath  will  cut  the  attack  .short,  remove  the  aching 
pains,  and  relieve  or  cure  the  hoarseness  at  once. 
The  hath  will  still  prove  very  useful  for  a  cold  of 
several  days'  standing,  though  its  good  effects  are  less 
striking.  The  Turkish  Bath  will  relieve  or  carry  off 
the  remains  of  a  general  severe  cold,  as  hoarseness, 
cough  with  expectoration,  and  lassitude.  Whilst  in 
the  hot  chamber  the  voice  generally  becomes  quite 
clear  and  natural,  though  the  hoarseness  may  after- 
wards return  in  a  slight  degree  ;  but  it  usually  contin- 
ue- to  improve,  becoming  natural  in  a  day  or  two,  a 
repetition  of  the  bath  aiding  complete  recovery.  In 
more  obstinate  cases  several  baths  may  be  required. 
Great  improvement  of  the  voice  in  the  hot  chamber 
may  be  taken  as  proof  that  the  bath  will  benefit,  even 
though  after  the  bath,  the  hoarseness  returns  to  a  great 
extent  . 


—  94  — 

The  Turkish  Bath  is  serviceable  to  persons  who 
after  dining  out,  not  wisely  but  too  well,  suffer  next 
day  from  malaise  and  slight  indigestion.  A  course  of 
Turkish  Baths  is  very  beneficial  to  towndwellers  lead- 
ing a  sedentary  life,  who,  especially  if  they  live  freely, 
are  apt  to  become  stout,  with  soft  and  flabby  tissues, 
are  easily  tired,  suffer  from  lack  of  energy  and  some 
mental  depression.  Under  the  influence  of  the  bath, 
their  muscles  become  firmer,  the  fatness  decreases, 
and  they  acquire  more  spirit  and  energy.  A  course  of 
Turkish  Baths  is  useful  to  patients  whose  health  has 
broken  down  by  residence  in  a  tropical  climate,  who 
suffer  from  general  debility,  enfeeblement  of  mind, 
dull  aching  pains  in  the  head  and  broken  sleep .  I  have 
heard  the  Turkish  Bath,  even  its  daily  use,  recom- 
mended highly  for  convalescents  from  acute  diseases, 
to  promote  assimilation,  digestion,  and  appetite. 

Patients  suffering  from  jaundice,  acquired  in  a  tropi- 
cal climate,  or  from  malaria,  have  often  testified  to  the 
beneficial  effects  of  Turkish  Baths  ;  but  it  is  necessary 
as  indeed  it  is  with  all  persons  with  shattered  health, 
to  caution  them  against  the  too  vigorous  and  unre- 
strained use  of  the  bath.  The  patient  should  leave 
the  hot  chamber  as  soon  as  free  perspiration  occurs, 
and  should  not  plunge  into  the  cold  bath,  but  take  a 
douche  with  slightly  tepid  water,  especially  in  cold 
weather. 

Many  dread  the  Turkish  Bath  lest  they  should  catch 
a  cold,  and  one  often  hears  complaints  of  a  cold  com- 
ing on  after  a  bath.  So  far  from  tending;  to  give  cold, 
these  baths,  as  we  have  said,  obviate  the  tendency  to 
catarrh,   and   fortify   delicate   persons    with   a   cold- 


—  ;>f>  — 

catching  tendency.  If  ever  the  bath  is  answerable  for 
;i  cold,  it  is  almost  always  owing  to  the  bather  leaving 
the  hath  house  too  soon,  perhaps  in  inclement  weather, 
whilst  his  skiii  is  perspiring  freely,  or  hi<  hair  is  soak- 
ing wel . 

Again,  it  is  do1  unusual  t<>  hear  complaints  that  the 
bath  has  induced  considerable  depression,  or  even 
exhaustion,  lasting  perhaps  several  days;  hut  here 
again  the  fault  rests  with  the  bather.  The  hath  musl 
be  adapted  to  the  strength  of  the  patient,  and  it  is 
alwavs  prudent  to  take  the  first  hath  circumspectly,  the 
bather  not  staying  too  long  in  the  hot  chamber,  and 
undergoing  the  bracing  application  only  a  few  seconds, 
with  water  not  very  cold.  It  is  difficult  to  point  out 
the  precise  time  a  bather  ought  to  remain  in  the  hot 
chamber  If  delicate,  and  it  is  his  firsl  bath,  he 
should  not  enter  a  chamber  hotter  than  130°  to  140  ° 
Fah,  and  should  stay  there  only  twenty  minutes  or 
half  an  hour,  or  less,  should  he  feel  faint  or  tired. 
The  patient's  sensations  are  the  best  guide  :  sometimes 
especially  if  suffering  from  pain,  the  hath  sooths  and 
eases,  and  then  he  can  remain  in  the  hot  chamber  an 
hour,  the  first  hath;  hut  I  repeat,  he  should  at  once 
leave  when  he  feels  faint  or  tired.  At  first,  the  patient, 
not  seldom,  on  commencing  the  hath,  fails  to  perspire; 
in  this  ease,  he  should  he  removed  from  the  chamber 
in  ten  minutes,  have  warm  water  poured  over  him,  and 
he  well  shampooed,  and,  unless  he  is  tired  or  faint. 
should  then  return  to  the  hot  chamber.  It  is  a  rule  in 
these  establishments  to  advise  even  an  old  bather  not 
to  enter  the  hotter  chamber  of  ISO -to  -220-  Fah  , 
till  the  skin  has  become  moist  with  perspiration; 
though   many  disregard  this  injunction  with  apparent 


—  96  — 

impunity.  Even  if  the  first  bath  causes  some  depres- 
sion, this  need  not  happen  afterwards,  partly  because 
the  bather  will  have  become  accustomed  to  the  pro- 
cess, and  partly  because  he  will  know  how  to  adapt  it 
to  his  strength.  Yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  some 
persons,  even  with  every  precaution,  cannot  take  a 
Turkish  Bath  without  experiencing  much  depression. 
Acute  rheumatism  and  acute  gout  have  been  treated 
with  these  baths ;  but,  as  in  most  instances,  the 
severity  of  the  pain  renders  it  impracticable  to  take 
patients  thus  affected  to  a  Turkish  Bath,  a  modified 
substitute  for  it,  shortly  to  be  described,  may  be  taken 
at  home.  The  acute  pain  of  gout,  it  is  said,  disap- 
pears in  the  hot  chamber  to  return  soon  afterwards  in 
a  diminished  degree. 

The  Turkish  Bath  is  particularly  valuable  in  suba- 
cute and  chronic  gout,  but,  as  might  be  expected,  it  is 
not  in  all  cases  equally  serviceable.  In  long  standing 
cases,  in  which  the  attacks  have  occurred  so  frequently 
as  to  distort  the  joints  by  deposits,  the  patients  are 
perhaps  liable  to  repeated  relapses,  and  are  scarcely 
ever  free  from  pain,  the  efficacy  of  the  bath,  though 
striking,  is  less  apparent  than  in  milder  and  more 
tractable  forms  ;  yet  even  in  these  severe  cases,  the 
bath  affords  considerable  relief  by  diminishing  the 
frequency  and  severity  of  the  relapses  and  by  remov- 
ing the  pervading  sensation  of  invalidism. 

The  Turkish  Bath  is  perhaps  more  efficacious  than 
other  remedies  in  cases  of  the  following  kind  :  A  pa- 
tient inclined  to  stoutness,  complains  of  slight  and 
fugitive  pains  ;  the  joints,  but  little  swollen,  are  merely 
stiff  and  a  little  red  and  hot.     The  gout  affects  inauy 


—  (J7  — 

parts,  often  in  succession — the  joints,  the  bead,  the 
back,  and  perhaps  some  of  tin-  internal  organs,  as  the 
bladder,  etc.     During  an  attach   the  patienl  complains 

of  malaise,  and  bis  complex! ften  becomes  dullish. 

The  tissues  are  of  ten  sofl  and  flabby,  and  in  spite  of 
judicious  diet  and  abundant  exercise,  the  patienl  may 
be  seldom  free  from  .-nine  evidence  of  gout,  sufficient 
to  annoy  but  not  to  disable  him  for  work.  Afterone 
or  two  baths  the  pains,  the  swellings,  and  the  malaise 
disappear,  the  joints  become  supple,  and  after  a  time, 
the  baths   being  continued,  the  complexion   roses  its 

sallow  iiess,    the    tissues    become    firm,    and    the     undue 

stoutness  undergoes  diminution.  On  discontinuing  the 
l»at lis  the  gouty  symptoms  will  often  occur  again  to 
disappear  on  the  resumption  of  the  treatment.  A 
gouty   patient    may   advantageously    supplement    the 

action  of  the  Turkish  Bath  by  drinking  certain  suitable 
natural  mineral  waters. 

The  Turkish  Bath  is  useful  in  the  various  kinds  of 
chronic  rheumatism.  A  patient  who.  in  damp  weather, 
or  during  an  east  or  northeast  wind,  suffers  from  stiff- 
Qe88  and  pains  in  several  joints,  will  derive  much  ben- 
efit from  a  Turkish  Bath.  The  .shoulder  joint  is  often 
affected,  the  pain  and  tenderness  being  frequently  lim- 
ited to  a  small  -pot. 

Again,  a  patient  without  any  previous  history  of 
rheumatism,  finds  his  shoulder  set  fast,  is  unable  to 
move  it  except  to  a  Limited  extent,  without  great  pain. 
Here,  again,  the  pain  and  tenderness  may  he  very  cir- 
cumscribed. In  such  a  case  a  Turkish  Bath  generally 
affords  great  relief.  Galvanism,  too,  even  one  appli- 
cation, will  often  entirely  remove  or  greatly  lessen  the 


—  98  — 

pains  and  stiffness.  Again,  the  Turkish  Bath  gives 
much  relief  in  mild  and  chronic  rheumatoid  arthritis, 
and  often  retards  the  march  of  this  disease.  The  bath 
often  relieves  lumbago. 

Mr.  Milton  finds  the  bath  useful  in  allaying  the  tor- 
menting itching  of  prurigo  unconnected  with  lice. 

Should  it  happen  that  the  regular  Turkish  Bath  is 
not  available,  then  one  or  the  other  of  the  following 
modifications  of  it  may  be  substituted  :  The  patient, 
quite  naked,  seated  on  a  wicker  chair,  with  his  feet  on 
a  low  stool,  is  enveloped  in  two  or  three  blankets,  the 
head  alone  being  exposed,  and  a  spirit  lamp  with  a 
large  wick  is  placed  under  the  chair.  In  about  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour  perspiration  streams  down  the  body,  and 
this  secretion  may  be  increased  by  drinking  plentifully 
of  water,  and  by  placing  a  pan  of  water  over  the  lamp. 
When  the  patient  has  perspired  sufficiently,  the  blan- 
kets are  quickly  removed,  and  one  or  two  pailfuls  of 
cold  water  are  poured  over  him  ;  or,  if  this  effusion  is 
too  heroic,  he  may  step  into  a  general  bath  at  80°,  or, 
better  still,  a  few  degrees  lower.  Dr.  Taylor,  of  Not- 
tingham, finds  this  treatment  useful  in  obstinate  skin 
affections,  rheumatism,  catarrh,  syphilis,  and  in  re- 
ducing stoutness  arising  from  an  inactive  life.  The 
instrument  makers  now  supply  convenient  forms  of  the 
domestic  Turkish  Bath.  It  is  far  better,  however, 
when  practicable,  to  employ  the  Turkish  Bath  itself. 

Dr.  Nevin  highly  recommends  the  following  handy 
steam  bath  in  the  treatment  of  acute  rheumatism,  avail- 
able when  the  patient  is  lying  helpless  and  irremovable 
in  bed  :  A  couple  of  common  red  bricks  are  placed  in 
an  oven  hot  enough  for  baking  bread,  and  in  half  an 


— !>!» — 

hour,  or  a  little  more,  they  are  sufficiently  heated  for 
the  purpose.  The  patient's  body  linen  having  been 
previously  removed,  these  two  bricks  are  folded  up  in 
a  piece  of  common  thick  flannel,  thoroughly  soaked  in 
rinegar,  and  laid  on  two  plates ;  one  Is  t<>  be  placed 
about  a  fool  distant  from  one  shoulder,  ami  the  other 
about  equally  distant   from  the  opposite   leg,  and  the 

bed  clothe-  are  then  tit  cover  the  brick-  and  the  patient 

closely  around  the  neck.  A  most  refreshing  acid  steam 
hath  is  thus  obtained  :  and  the  supply  of  steam  may 
he  kept  up,  if  necessary,  by  remoxing  one  brick  and 
Replacing  it  by  another  hot  one  kepi  in  reserve.  When 
the  patient  has  been  in  the  hath  fifteen  or  t  went  y  min- 
utes, the  lied  clothe-  and  plates  should  he  removed  ami 

tin  path  at  instantly  umpp<><l  all  <><■<  ,■  >■<  ,■;/  rapidly,  with 
n  towel  wrung  out  in  <-<,lil  water,  and  then  quickly 
hlbbed  dry.  Dry  warm  linen  must  he  put  on  at  once. 
and  dry  bed  clothes  must  replace  those  which  were 
on  the  bed  previously.  The  under  sheet  can  he  re_ 
moved  and  a  dry  one  substituted,  bv  fastening  the 
corners  of  the  dry  sheet  to  those  of  the  damp  one  : 
generally  very  little  difficulty  is  met  with  in  simply 
■rawing  the  old  sheet  from  under  the  patient  when  the 
dry  one  follows  it  and  is  left  in  its  place.  The  patient 
ordinarily  experiences  great  and  speedy  relief  from  this 
hath.  The  exhausting  sweats  are  usually  diminished, 
and  the  necessity  of  opium  much  lessened.  Tie' 
ihange  of  the  body  linen  can  be  easily  accomplished  by 
■earing  the  night  shirt  open  from  top  to  bottom,  down 
the  back.  The  steam  bath  and  subsequent  colddouche 
should  be  continued  after  the  patient  is  able  to  walk 
■bout,  as  they  contribute  to  the  healthy  action  of  the 
skin,  and  promote  free   mobility  of  the  joints.     After 


—  100  — 

the  patient  is  able  to  get  out  of  bed,  the  bath  may  be 
administered  in  the  manner  previously  described .  The 
steam  bath,  according  to  Dr.  Sieveking,  relieves  the 
pain  and  checks  the  perspiration  in  acute  rheumatism, 
to  a  degree  he  has  failed  to  attain  by  any  other  treat 
ment. — Dr.  Sydney  Ringer's  Therapeutics. 


The  Physiology  of  the  Turkish  Bath. 


With  the  exception  of  a  paper  in  the  Lancet  of  May 
20,  1876,  by  I>r.  J.  C.  Bucknill,  and  another  read  by 
Dr  Canu-ron,  at  the  meeting  of  the  British  Medical 
Association  in  1877,  all  accounts  of  the  Turkish  Bath 
have  beeu  confined  to  general  descriptions  of  tin'  detail- 
of  the  process,  and  of  the  sensations  experienced  dur- 
ing it-  use.  Except  in  these  papers  I  can  rind  no 
record  of  any  attempts  to  measure,  with  scientific 
accuracy,  any  of  the  various  powerful  effects  which  it 
i-  universally  acknowledged  to  produce  upon  the 
bodily  functions.  In  the  hope  of  determining  by  ex- 
periment the  exact  action  of  hot  dry  air  upon  man,  I 
have  for  several  years  carried  on  a  scries  of  observa- 
tions. 

I  presume  that  my  readers  are  all  acquainted  with 
the  details  of  a  Turkish  Bath.  If  not,  there  are  many 
hook-  from  which  they  can  be  learned — notably  that 
by  Professor  Erasmus  Wilson  upon  the  subject.  Suf- 
fice it  to  say,  that  the  essential  part  of  the  process 
consists  in  the  immersion  of  the  body  in  dry  air  at  a 
temperature  varying:  from  130°  F.  to  l'oi^  F,  for 
a  considerable  time  (half  an  hour  to  an  boui  gener- 
ally, )  and  subsequent  douching  with  cold  water.  The 
accessories  of  shampooing,  etc..  are  non-essential. 


—  102  — 

Our  power  of  tolerating  very  great  heat,  provided 
the  air  is  dry,  without  injury  or  inconvenience,  has 
long  been  known.  Indeed,  Drs.  Forsyth  and  Blagden, 
more  than  a  century  ago,  submitted  themselves  to  a 
temperature  of  260°  F.  (127°  C.,)  without  great 
inconvenience. 

All  the  experiments  were  made  upon  myself,  invaria- 
bly before  dinner,  say  4  to  6,  P.  M.,  and  about  two 
hours  after  lunch.  They  were  performed  in  the  spac- 
ious bath  of  the  Arlington  Swimming  Club,  Glasgow  ; 
and  1  may  here  mention,  for  it  is  an  important  factor, 
that  this  is  heated  by  Constantine's  system,  which 
consists  in  an  arrangement  of  stoves  by  which  a  con- 
stant current  of  pure  air  is  drawn  from  the  outside 
atmosphere,  heated  by  passing  through  a  species  of 
oven,  and  driven  into  one  of  the  apartments  of  the 
bath  with  such  force  that  it  traverses  the  whole  suite 
of  rooms,  parting  with  some  of  its  heat  in  each,  and 
ultimately  passing  out  from  the  last  into  the  air.  By 
this  means  not  only  is  the  air  for  breathing,  but  also 
the  air  in  contact  with-  the  skin,  constantly  renewed, 
so  that  a  layer  of  watery  vapor  does  not,  as  in  all  baths 
heated  with  stationary  air,  soon  cover  the  body,  and 
convert  the  bath  into  a  vapor  one.  The  freedom  from 
all  feeling  of  oppression,  even  at  very  high  tempera- 
ture, experienced  in  a  bath  thus  heated,  is  the  best 
proof  of  the  excellence  of  the  system. 

The  temperatures  at  which  the  experiments  were 
conducted,  were  generally  an  initial  heat  of  about 
170  °  F.  for  a  few  minutes,  to  produce  diaphoresis 
rapidly,  followed  by  a  subsequent  temperature  of 
about  130  °   F. ,  during  the  remainder  of  the  time  spent 


—  103  — 

in  the  hot  rooms.  This,  I  believe,  is  the  besl  system 
for  habitual  bathers,  as  perspiration,  being  once  freely 
established  in  the  hottest  room,  is  kepi  active  bj  the 
lower  degree  of  heal . 

What  I  sel  myself  to  investigate  was  the  effeel  of 
immersion  in  this  hoi  dry  air, — 

1.  Upon  the  amounl  of  materia]  eliminated  from 
the  body  in  excess  of  the  normal. 

2.  The  alteration  produced  in  the  temperature  of 
the  body*. 

3.  The  influence  upon  the  pulse  rate. 

4.  The  influence  on  the  respiratory  rate. 

5.  The  alteration  in  the  composition  of  the  urine. 

G.   The  composition  of  the  sweat. 

7.  The  arterial  tension  as  shown  by  the  sphygmo- 
graph. 

We  have  now  to  consider  the  modes  of  making  the 
experiments  under  each  of  the  above  heads,  and  the 
results  obtained. 

WEIGHT. 

1.  First,  as  to  the  amount  of  material  eliminated 
from  the  body  in  excess  of  the  normal.  It  is  evident 
that  to  estimate  this  it  was  necessary  to  ascertain  the 
exact  weight  before  and  after  the  bath,  and  the  quan- 
tity of  water  drunk  during  the  time.  For  this  pur- 
pose I  employed  a  beam  turning  with  }  oz.,  when 
loaded  with  3  cwt.,  with  which  all  the  weighings  were 
done. 


—  104  — 

As  the  time  occupied  by  the  experiments  varied  con- 
siderably, I  have  in  the  following  table  reduced  the 
totals  to  loss  per  minute. 

TABLE    I. 


ACTUAL  LOSS 

TOTAL  TIME 

LOSS  PER 

MINUTE 

EXPERIMENT. 

IN 

IN 

IN 

OUNCES,     DRACHMS. 

MINUTES. 

DRACHMS. 

GRAINS. 

1 

60                           0 

60 

s 

0 

2 

38                       6 

55 

5 

38  10-55 

3 

22                       4 

30 

6 

0 

4 

35                       0 

55 

5 

5  25-55 

5 

24                       4 

40 

4 

54 

6 

24                       0 

40 

4 

4S 

This  gives  an  average  total  loss  of  weight  of  34 
ounces  1  drachm  in  an  average  time  of  46  minutes  40 
seconds,  that  is  an  average  loss  per  hour  of  44  ounces — 
per  minute  of  5  drachms  53  grains. 

The  amount  of  water  drunk  averaged  4  drachms 
44  4-7  grains  per  minute,  so  that  the  excess  of  loss 
over  water  consumed  is  67  3-7  grains  per  minute. 

Seguin  calculates  the  average  normal  loss  by  skin 
and  lungs  is  18  grains  per  minute. 

Now,  all  this  material  must  have  been  removed 
either  by  the  skin  or  lungs,  no  doubt  by  both,  and  I 
fear  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  how  much  passed  off 
by  each  of  these  channels.  However,  it  is  a  fact  of 
great  importance  to  know  that  by  these  two  channels 
can  be  eliminated  in  an  hour  more  than  44  ounces  of 
the  constituents  of  the  body — not  much  less  bulk  than 
is  normally  excreted  by  the  kidneys  in  24  hours. 


—  105  — 

No  doubt  the  amount  of  the  solid  constituents  is 
Hindi  smaller,  although   l»\    no  means  inconsiderable; 

nevertheless,  even    if    we   consider    what   is  lost   a-  pure 

water,  it  is  obvious  that  the  interchange  of  such 
a  quantity  of  fluid  in  the  economy  must  produce,  or  at 
least  determine,  important    metamorphoses.     In  fact, 

the  pr0C68S   may    he    fairly    considered  as  a  washing  "I 

all  the  tissues  of  the  body  from  within  outward. 

TEMPERATURE. 

Next,  as  to  the  effect  upon  the  temperature. 

The  estimation  of  this  presented  some  difficulty,  as 
it  is  obvious  that  the  thermometer  employed  must  all 
the  time  he  rigorously  enclosed  in  the  body,  and  no 
part  of  it  ever  permitted  to  come  in  contact  with  the 
hot  aii\  To  effect  this  there  seems  only  two  means 
available,  its  insertion  into  the  rectum,  or  its  retention 
in  the  closed  month.  The  necessity  of  walking  from  a 
cool  room  into  a  hot  one  and  hack  again  militated 
strongly  against  the  first  of  these  situations,  sol  had  an 
instrument  constructed  of  aU-shape,  originally  with  the 
intention  of  placing  it  on  the  floor  of  the  mouth,  with  a 
leg  on  each  side  of  the  frenuin  of  the  tongue.  When 
the  instrument  was  in  this  position  it  was  found  to 
produce  such  discomfort  that  I  was  obliged  to  use  it 
lying  in  the  cheek  outside  the  jaws.  In  this  position 
all  the  readings  were  obtained.  The  thermometer  was 
set.  put  in  place,  and  the  mouth  closed  in  a  cool  room, 
the  hot  room  then  entered,  the  mouth  being  kept  rigor- 
ously shut,  and  breathing  being  carried  on  by  the- nose 
until,  after  the  lapse  of  ten  minutes,  t  he  cool  room  was 

again  entered,  and  the  thermometer  read  and  noted. 


— 101) 


Tt MP.  BEFORE 
FAHRT.  BATH!  10 


Chart  I. 


Minutes  from  entering  Bdlh  Iaftef. 

15   I  20  \  25   I  30  I  35     40     45      50    55     60   BATH 


In  this  way,  as  far  as  possible,  I  avoided  the  direct 
action  of  the  hot  air  on  the  thermometer,  and  I  do  not 
think  that  it  can  have  been  much  affected  either  by  the 
heat  passing  through  the  cheeks  or  from  the  nasal 
cavity.  It  is  pos- 
sible, although  I 

tried    to    avoid  .    

this,  that    some  j  ■■ 

small  quantities  I  4  -  -  *- -  -1  JUl^L  _-__'  _.  Z 
of  heated  air 
may  have  enter- 
ed the  mouth 
from  behind  and 
affected  the  in- 
strument. How- 
ever, the  regu- 
larity of  the  re- 
sults obtained  in 
many  experi- 
ments militates 
against  the  prob- 
ability of  this 
source  of  error 
having  produced 
much  effect. 
The  chart  sives 
the  average  of  a 
number  of  ob- 
servations.     I 

do  not,  however,  vouch  so  much  for  absolute  as 
relative  accuracy  of  the  figures,  since,  from  the 
peculiar  construction  of  the  thermometer,  it  is  proba- 
bly not  to  be  entirely  depended  upon.     As  the  amount 


Average  normal  ... 

"       rise  at  end  of  10  minutes, 
"       highest  point, 
"      after  bath,     - 


F 

97-65° 
1-6° 
101-3° 
97-2° 


—  107  — 

of  alteration,  rather  than  the  actual    temperature,   i« 
what  we  wish  to  discover,  this  is  of  less  moment. 

Thus  we  have  a  rise  of  3*7°  F.  produced  by  the  bath, 
;m<l  this  highest  temperature  was  always  reached  at  the 
end  of  fifty  minutes.  <)n  the  few  occasions  on  which 
tlif  experiment  was  prolonged  to  Bixty  minutes,  a  ten- 
dency lo  fall  during  tin-  last  part  of  the  time  was 
obsen  ed. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  the  experiments  described 
by  Dr.  Bucknill  and  made  by  Dr.  Duckworth  William-, 
the  rise  of  temperature  observed  was  1*7°,  ami.  as  the 
period  of  immersion  in  the  case-  recorded  by  them  was 
always  very  short,  this  coincides  exactly  with  my  own 
observation  at  the  end  of  ten  minute-.  As  in  Dr. 
Cameron's  observations  the  whole  of  the  thermometer 
was  not  enclosed  in  the  mouth,  I  think  the  higher  tem- 
peratures he  obtained  are  probably  due  to  direct  heating 
of  the  instrument. 

PULSE. 

The  pulse  follows  much  the  same  course  of  tempera- 
ture, but  the  variations  are  greater.   Especially  did  the 

rate  before  the  bath  vary  on  different  day-.  Besides, 
the  effect  of  thirst  was  observed  to  he  an  acceleration 
id'  the  pulse  rate,  which  again  fell  after  water  was 
drunk.  This  was  probably  due  to  the  reflex  effect  of 
the  cold  water,  and  perhaps  somewhat  to  the  irritating 
action  of  the  too  highly  concentrated  blood  upon  the 
heart 

The  followiug  chart  -hows  the  average  of  many 
observations. 


—  108 


The  rise  in  the  pulse-rate  during  the  first  ten  minutes 


Chart  II. 


was  a  little  over  thirteen  beats 
The  maximum,  116,  was,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  temperature,  at- 
tained at  fifty  minutes,  after 
which  a  slight  fall  took  place 
After  the  douche  the  return 
was  nearly  but  not  quite  to  nor- 
mal on  the  average,  but  in  one 
case  it  was  as  much  as  fourteen 
lower  than  before  the  bath. 
On  this  occasion  the  initial  rate 
was  high  I  will  again  refer  to 
this  in  considering  the  ratio 
subsisting  between  the  pulse 
and  respiration  rates. 

KESPIRATION. 

In   the  paper  in  the  Lancet\ 
referred  to  above,    Dr.   Buck- 
nill's  chief   conclusion  is    that 
the   rate  of    respiration   is   di- _ 

minished  during  the  stay  in  the  hot  rooms.    Up  to  a 
certain   point   I   have    been 
able  to  confirm  this    result, 
as  the  foil  owing  average  chart 
shows  : 

Here   we   have    a  marked  I 
fall  as  the  first   effect,  fol- 
lowed by  a  steady  rise  to  a| 
point  higher  than  the  initial,! 
and  after  the   bath  a  fall  to  near  the  number  previous 
to  the  bath.     This  does  not  altogether    coincide    with 


1    PULSE  IbefdiJe      |-min|iito| 
1    RATE      BATH  10     20     3D    40 

AFTER 
50     60   BATH 

BIUHB 

' 

1  ii4  1  II  1  1 

J\         \ 

Him 

■■■■HUB 

|    HHMMH 

-( .,  am.iii 
mi  in 

9  '   SII 
HwiHBll 

■»■■] 

miiM— ■mi 
HiiaHIH 

—  10!>  — 

the  results  recorded  by  Drs.  Bucknill  and  Duckworth 
Williams  in  the  paper  referred  to.  They  give  i h«- 
average  diminution  in  the  respirator}  rate  as  l._. 
which    closely   corresponds    with    my  result,   namely, 

a  diminution  of   I  ;  bul    they  make  no  menti f  the 

subsequent  rise  which  I  always  found.  This  is  proba- 
U\  due  to  the  shorl  time  they  kepi  their  patients  in 
the  bath.  They,  besides,  merely  state  thai  the  obser- 
vations were  taken  during  the  profuse  perspiration, 
and  nut  the  time  after  entering  the  hoi  room.  The 
average  rates  of  pulse  and  respiration  before  the  bath 
were  in  my  observations — pulse,  79*4;  respiration, 
'2-j'k  Thai  is  a  ratio  of  '1  to  7,  somewhal  higher 
than  tin'  normal.  At  ten  minutes  the  rate-  were — 
pulse,  92-5;  respiration,  20  8;  a  ratio  of  2  to  8-8, 
which  is  nearer  the  normal;  at  fifty  minutes,  ll">-">  to 
!'•">■  1  :  a  ratio  of  2  to  8  6.  The.  well-known  difficulty 
of  not  altering  the  rate  of  breathing  when  counting  it 
yourself  may  have  introduced  error  into  these  figures, 
hut  on  several  of  the  occasions  medical  friends  counted 
for  me.  Their  estimations  nearly  coincided  with  my 
own,  except  in  the  initial  rate:  and  as  my  own  resull 
was  abnormally  high,  I  have  in  the  above  calculation- 
adopted  theirs. 

SWEAT    AND    URINE 

AlS  the  mutual  relations  of  the  constituent  -  of  the 
sweat  and  urine  execreted  during  the  bath  are  the  mosl 
important  parts   of  this   branch   of  the   investigation, 

they  will  best  he  treated  together.  The  method 
adopted  for  procuring  the  sweat  was  tin-  enclosure  df 
one  of  the  arms  in  an  india-rubber  bag,  i  onfined  round 

the  shoulder   hv   elastic   hands,  and    furnished    with  au 


— 110  — 

exit  tube,  closed  by  a  clip.  By  this  arrangement 
about  2  oz.  sweat  could  be  collected  during  an  ordinary 
bath.  The  urine  was  passed  immediately  before  enter- 
ing the  bath,  and  again  after  complete  cooling.  The 
sweat  thus  collected  was  found  to  have  an  average 
specific  gravity  of  1006-3,  and  to  be  faintly  alkaline 
or  neutral.  The  urine  after  the  bath  had  a  greater 
specific  gravity  (12°  of  urinometer)  than  before  the 
bath. 

I  have  to  thank  Mr.  W.  J.  Mackenzie  for  the  careful 
chemical  analyses  he  has  made  of  these  fluids.  From 
the  small  quantities  I  was  able  to  place  at  his  disposal, 
the  estimation  was  necessarily  confined  to  the  principal 
constituents — chlorides  and  nitrogenous  substances — 
which  we  presume  to  be  urea,  For  the  first  of  these 
the  process  he  adopted  consisted  in  evaporation  with  a 
little  nitrate  of  potash,  ignition  to  destroy  organic 
coloring  matter,  and  precipitation  with  silver  nitrate. 

The  urea  was  estimated  by  Russel  and  Wert's  hypo- 
bromite  solution. 

The  mean  of  his  results  stated  per  thousand  is  given 
in  the  following  table  : — 

Table  II. 

Sweat  and  Urine.     In  1000  Parts. 


URINE  BEFORE 
BATH. 

SWEAT. 

URINE  AFTER 
BATH. 

Chlorides  

5-68 
17  61 

0-05 
1-55 

3-65 

19-18 

Urea 

—  Ill  — 

From  this  we  Bee  thai  the  Bweat  contained  more 
chlorides  thai]  the  urine  before  the  bath,  and  nearly 
double  the  amount  present  in  the  urine  secreted  during 
and  immediately  after  the  bath.  Whether  the  abnor- 
mally small  amount  of  chlorides  existing  in  the  urine 
(not  much  more  than  half  the  amount  given  by  Vcegel 
as  normal)  influenced  this  or  not,  further  experiments 
on  differenl  individuals  will  be  required  to  ascertain, 
and  whether  this  diminution  of  the  urinary  chlorides 
after  free  action  of  the  skin  has  any  bearings  on  the 
well-known  reduction  in  their  amount  whieli  is  found 
In  pneumonia  and  other  acute  diseases  seems  worthy 
of  clinical  investigation 

The  urea,  on  t  he  ot  her  hand,  follows  a  very  different 

course.     We  have  a  considerable  quantity  in  the  sweat, 

and  an  increased  amount  in  the  urine  secreted  during 
and  after  the  hath.  The  existence  of  urea  in  the  sweat 
is  doubted  by  many  physiologists,  and  out  of  the 
three  principal  analyses  of  this  excretion  by  Favre, 
Shot  tin,  and  Funke,  Favre  finds  only  0  044;  Shot  tin, 
none;  Funke,  155,  per  1000.  The  absolute  identity 
of  the  latter  with  Mr.  Mackenzie's  result  is  interesting. 

The  amount  of  urea  in  the  urine  before  the  hath  is 
about  normal.  The  increase  in  the  urine  after  the 
bath  is  probably  due  to  the  increased  density  of  the 
fluid,  and  the  high  temperature  which  the  body 
reaches — a  temperature  like  that  of  fever. 

BLOOD   PRES81  RE. 

The  difficulty  of  obtaining  sphygmographic  tracings 

in  the  hath  was  greater  than  I  expected.  I  did  not 
venture  to  expose  a   Ma  revs  sphy<imoi;raph  to  the  heat 


—  112  — 

and  moist  handling  necessary ;  besides,  I  doubt  if  it  is 
possible  to  manipulate  the  smoked  papers  properly 
under  the  circumstances.  The  Tambour  sphygmo- 
graph,  which  I  devised  some  years  ago,  gave  some< 
fair  results,  but  even  it  was  difficult  to  manage,  and 
the  effect  of  the  heat  on  the  india-rubber  membranes 
may  have  somewhat  altered  the  tracings.  However, 
I  think  we  are  justified  in  concluding  that  for  the  first 
ten  to  fifteen  '  minutes  the  force  of  the  heart  beat  is 
increased,  and  that  after  immersion  for  about  twenty 
miuutes  it  becomes  feebler.  This  is  shown  by  the 
diminished  height  of  the  tracing.  The  rounding  of 
the  summit  and  decreased  distinctness  of  the  dicrotic 
notch  seem  to  point  to  an  increase  of  peripheral  resist- 
ance, and  perhaps  to  the  injection  of  a  smaller  quantity 
of  blood  into  the  vessels  at  each  ventricular  contrac- 
tion. The  condition  of  the  circulation  seems  to  be  a 
great  dilatation  of  all  the  superficial  vessels,  and  there- 
fore a  diminution  of  the  quantity  contained  in  the 
heart  and  deeper  trunks.  This  probably  produces  a 
faster  action  of  the  heart,  as  the  observations  on  the 
pulse  show  actually  took  place  ;  but  it  appears  to  the 
author  that  the  necessary  result  of  great  capillary  dila- 
tation is  increase,  not,  as  usually  supposed,  diminution 
of  peripheral  resistance.  No  doubt  the  opposite  con- 
dition, capillary  contraction,  causes  an  increase  of 
peripheral  resistance  from  the  greater  difficulty  of 
forcing  the  blood  through  the  narrowed  channels  ;  but 
in  the  case  of  dilatation,  the  vessels  contain  an  im- 
mensely greater  mass  of  blood,  and  this  mass  must 
require  a  greater  expenditure  of  force  to  set  it  in  mo- 
tion, so  that  increased  peripheral  resistance  may  arise 
as  well  from  excessive   distention  as  from  contraction 


—  113  — 

pf  the  capillaries.  It  is  probable  that  up  to  ;i  certain 
point  this  is  counterbalanced  by  the  greater  facility  of 
tlou  from  diminution  of  friction,  hut  I  conceive  thai 
when  the  increase  of  the  capacity  <>f  the  capillary 
ryessels  is  large,  and  extends  over  a  wide  area,  the 
opposite  effecl  is  the  more  likely  to  accrue.  This, 
then,  is  the  condition  broughl  about  bj  the  hoi  air,  in 
my  case  ;it  Leasl . 

The  trace  after  the  bath  was  absolutely  normal, 
while  thai  obtained  Ik 'fun'  the  bath  was  one  of  decidedly 

low  tension. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

To  sum  up,  it  has  been  Bhown  thai  a  very  large 
quantity  of  material  can  he  eliminated  from  the  body 
in  a  comparatively  short  time  by  immersion  in  hot  dry 
air,  and  although  the  greater  pari  of  this  is  water,  still 
solids  are  present  in  quantity  sufficient  to  render  this  a 
valuable  emunctory  process. 

The  temperature  of  the  body  and  the  pulse  rate  are 

markedly  raised. 

The  respiration  falls  at  first,  hut  afterwards  is  less 
influenced  than  would  be  expected  prima  facie. 

The  urine  is  increased  in  density,  and  deprived  of  ,i 
large  portion  of  its  chlorides,  while,  if  anything,  an 
increase  in  the  amount  of  urea  is  produced. 

The  principal  effect  upon  the  arterial  tension  seems 
to  lie  an  increase  produced  by  the  greater  rapidity  of 
the  heart's  action  combined  with  the  dilated,  we  may 
almost  say  gorged,  condition  of  the  capillary  circula- 
tion . 


—  114  — 

From  these  conclusions  we  may  deduce  the  following 
practical  observations  as  to  the  use  of  the  Turkish 
Bath  in  medicine  : — 

Its  most  important  effect  is  the  stimulation  of  the 
emunctory  action  of  the  skin.  By  this  means  we  are 
enabled  to  wash,  as  it  were,  the  solid  and  fluid  tissues, 
and  especially  the  blood  and  skin,  by  passing  water 
through  them  from  within  out.  Hence,  in  practice,  one 
of  the  most  essential  requisites  is  copious  drinking  of 
water  during  the  sweating. 

The  elevation  of  the  temperature,  and  more  especi- 
ally of  the  pulse-rate  and  blood-pressure,  point  to  the 
necessity  of  caution  in  cases  where  the  circulatory 
system  is  diseased. 

Excessively  long  duration  of  the  bath  seems  to  pro- 
duce more  or  less  depression ,  as  shown  by  the  fall  of 
pulse  and  temperature  after  fifty-five  minutes.  It  is 
probable  that  the  time  at  which  this  occurs  varies  with 
individual  idiosyncrasy.  In  my  case,  it  is  accompanied 
by  a  distinct  feeling,  which  I  can  only  compare  to 
satiety. 

The  great  use  of  the  bath  seems  to  be  the  power  it 
gives  us  of  producing  a  free  action  of  the  skin  in  per- 
sons of  sedentary  habit,  or  suffering  from  disease 
interfering  with  fluid  excretion,  and  by  its  means  I 
believe  considerable  elimination  of  morbid  matter  may 
also  be  brought  about.  Besides,  and  along  with  this, 
it  is  an  efficient  means,  if  resorted  to  sufficiently  early, 
of  relieving  internal  congestion,  on  the  same  principle, 
and  with  much  greater  certainty,  than  the  usual  dia- 
phoretics ;  and  in  rheumatoid  affections  not  only  does 


— 115  — 

U  act  in  tlii^  way,  l»ut  by  the  relaxation  «>t*  muscles 
permits  of  passive  movements,  rubbing,  etc.  |  sham- 
pooing  i.  exercising  ;i  much  greater  influence  than  they 
would  independent l\  exert . 

I'm  9IOLOQH  m    Labor  \  rom  , 
Glasgow    Royal  Imikmvky  8 i   01   Medicine, 

June  1-7'.'. 


HEAT  AND  ITS  USES. 


"  We  have  hitherto  known  nothing  of  heat  as  a  rem- 
edial agent  in  disease"  and  "  I  do  not  know  of  any 
work  where  it  has  been  referred  to  in  the  most  distant 
manner." 

It  is  astonishing  that  such  a  statement  can  be  truth- 
fully made  respecting  the  state  of  medical  knowledge 
on  the  subject,  and  more  astonishing  that  scientific 
minds  should  have  lingered  for  hundreds  of  centuries 
on  the  very  threshold,  as  it  were,  of  a  most  important 
discovery.  .  For,  since  the  days  of  Hippocrates,  hot 
applications  in  a  variety  of  forms,  as  warm  water  and 
vapor  baths,  stupes,  poultices,  and  other  contrivances, 
have  been  always  familiar  to  medical  practitioners. 
Still,  hot  air,  as  now  applied,  was  never  made  available 
as  a  medical  agent  until  the  establishment  the  "  Hot 
Air  Bath"  by  Dr.  Barter,  while  the  experience  that 
has  since  been  obtained  promises  to  effect  a  revolution 
in  the  whole  system  of  medical  practice. 

It  is  passing  strange  that  it  should  have  been  so,  be- 
cause medical  scholars  were  familiar  with  classical  an- 
tiquity. In  England  we  have  the  interesting  remains 
of  the  Roman  Baths,  and  in  Ireland  they  had  the  sweat 
bath  in  actual  use  from  time  immemorial  down  to  the 
present  day ;  while  the  customs  of  other  countries  re- 
vealed to  us  by  travelers,  ought  to  have  instructed  in- 


—  117  — 

quiring  minds  that  tin  institution  like  the  Bath  could 
not  possibly  have  survived  the  decadence  and  ruin  of 
Empires,  and  been  preserved  through  thousands  of 
years  among  divers  nations  in  ever)  quarter  of  the 
globe,  unless  it  possessed  inherent  properties  of  utility  . 

By  experiments  carefully  instituted  and  conducted, 
we  know  that  certain  beneficial  effects  follow  the  expo, 
sure  of  the  body  to  the  influence  of  Heat ;  and  although 
we  may  know  little  or  nothing  absolutely  about  the  na- 
i  urc  or  essence  of  what  we  call  Heat,  still  that  does  not 
militate  against  the  utility  of  its  existence,  or  our  appli- 
cation of  it  to  practical  purposes. 

On  the  all-important  fact,  therefore,  that  we  have 
perfect  command  over  the  blood  circulation,  by  sub- 
jecting the  skin  organism  to  the  influence  of  artifi- 
cial heat,  the  whole  sanative  virtues  of  the  Bath  de- 
pends. Remember  that  every  drop  of  blood  courses 
through  the  whole  circulatory  system  many  times  an 
hour — how  by  subjecting  the  bodyto  the  artificial  tem- 
peratures of  the  Bath  we  ran  bring  every  drop  of  blood 
freely  to  the  skin  surface,  and  subject  it  to  a  purifying 
process  not  inferior  to  that  which  it  undergoes  in  the 
lungs — how,  by  thus  attracting  the  blood  to  the  skin 
surface,  we  can  relieve  congestion  of  the  internal  or- 
ganism, and  at  the  same  time  promote  healthy  nutri- 
tion in  a  manner  otherwise  unattainable.  Reflecting 
on  these  facts,  one  will  readily  understand  that  the  dis- 
eased bodily  conditions,  the  therapeutic  power  of  the 
Bath  consists  in  the  combined  action  of  all  these  truly 
sanative  influences  by  which  decomposed  waste — a  pro- 
lific source  of  disease — is  rapidly  eliminated  from  the 
system,  and  Mood  purification,  the   foundation  of  or- 


—  118  — 

game    life    and   health,    rapidly   and    simultaneous!) 
effected, 

Erasmus  Wilson  has  admitted  the  ignorance  of  med- 
ical  men  concerning  the  therapeutic  properties  of  Heat, 
and  with  equal  truth  he  might  have  applied  the  same! 
observation  to  cold,  or  indeed  temperature  generally. 
It  is  only  a  few  years  since  the  Medical  Faculty  have 
paid  any  particular  attention  to  temperature  as  possess- 
ing any  remedial  properties  in  disease.  But  when 
medical  men  get  an  inkling  of  a  natural  truth,  they  are 
apt  to  pervert  it — to  mar  its  utility  by  allying  it  with 
drug  practice.  There  is  a  tendency  to  rush  from  one 
extreme  to  another,  and  we  now  hear  of  specifics  and 
panaceas,  in  the  shape  of  ice  bags,  keeping  a  rheumatic 
patient  in  a  bath  of  warm  water  for  days,  aye,  for 
weeks,  suspended  between  wind  and  water,  so  to  speak, 
recommended  by  drug  practitioners  in  conjunction  with 
their  own  "  Medicamemta"  so  wonderfully  curative  in 
themselves — "  so  wonderfully  curative  "'  that  one  of  the 
most  able  Medical  writers  has  said  "  that  their  medi- 
cines killed  more  than  they  cured  ':  The  general  action 
of  the  "  Hot-Air  Bath  "  on  the  processes  and  functions 
of  animal  life — the  sources  and  springs  of  vitality  and 
health — there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  understanding  its 
peculiar  power  and  incomparable  excellence  as  a  reme- 
dial agent,  in  the  various  phases  of  diseased  bodily 
conditions.  I  am  full}7  persuaded,  and  fully  believe 
that  this  remedial  power  extends  without  limitation 
over  every  form  of  disease — that  there  is  not  any 
known  form  of  bodily  ills  over  which  the  Bath  is  not 
capable  of  exercising  at  least  a  soothing,  alleviative  influ- 
ence, and  this,  too,  even  in  the  most  hopeless  cases, 
where  all  the  resources  of  Drug-  Medication  are  utter! v 


— 119  — 

at  fault,  or  are  only  operative  in  torturing  the  sufferer 
to  the  grave.  Thi.s  opinion  i.s  not  speculative — it  is  the 
result  of  no  fanciful  idea  or  line-spun  theory,  but  is 
based  on  sound  physiology,  verified  by  experience 
while  its  perfect  truth  commends  itself  to  the  common 
sense  of  every  unprejudiced  and  intelligent  mind  thai 
will  bestow  a  moment's  reflection  on  the  subject . 

We  do  not  claim  for  the  Bath  (as  many  of  our  oppo- 
nents accuse  us  of)  that  the  Bath  is  a  grand  panacea 
for  "  all  the  ills  flesh  is  heir  to  ;  "  but,  as  we  have  said 
above,  it  can  be  employed  with  confidence  in  all  dis- 
eased bodily  conditions,  for  its  action,  even  on  incura- 
ble disease,  must  be  beneficial  as  an  alleviative.  Be- 
fore referring  more  particularly  to  some  forms  of 
bodily  derangements,  I  propose  to  notice  the  prevalent 
professional  and  popular  errors  which  obscure  and  mis- 
lead the  public  mind  concerning  the  nature  of  disease, 
and  the  effect  of  drugs  upon  the  same.  I  propose  to 
say  it  in  my  own  way,  avoiding  all  technicalities  and 
Latin  terms  ;  and  if  to  the  classical  reader  it  seems  to 
lack  scientific  phraseology,  I  trust  it  will  not  be  entirely 
void  of  common  sense,  as  most  Medical  text  books  of 
the  present  day  are. 


Concerning  the  Nature .  of  Disease, 

AND  THE  EFFECTS  OF  DRUGS  UPON  THE  SAME. 


Although  Physiology  and  Pathology  have  been  suc- 
cessfully cultivated  into  useful  sciences,  the  Profession 
as  yet  acknowledges  no  authoritative  exposition  respect- 
ing the  nature  of  disease.  The  most  discordant  opin- 
ions still  prevail  on  the  subject,  and  the  light  of 
science  has  been  turned  aside,  and  the  experience  per- 
verted to  sustain  the  unphilosophical  teachings  of 
drug  schools,  which  are  now,  as  they  always  have 
been,  based  on  speculative  fallacies  as  to  the  cause  and 
nature  of  disease.  In  order  that  I  may  not  be  mis- 
judged or  accused  of  prevaricating,  I  will  show  the 
deplorable  state  of  ignorance  in  which  the  profession 
is  now  involved,  by  quoting  from  the  records  of  the 
Harveian  Society,  of  London.  It  seems  a  committee 
was  chosen  from  the  above  named  society  for  the  pur- 
pose of  gleaning  some  information  about  the  nature  of 
disease  and  the  action  of  drugs.  The  proceedings  of 
this  committee  are  also  highly  instructive,  and  afford 
convincing  proof — were  additional  proof  required — 
of  how  hap-hazardous  and  murderous  drug  practice,  as 
blindly  followed,  must  necessarily  be  The  medical 
journals,  in  reporting  the  first  meeting  of  the  com- 
mitte,  say : 


—  121  — 

"  It  was  agreed  t<>  commence  proceedings  by  taking 
up  the  following  subjects  for  investigation,  viz.: 
The  Natural  Histoid  of  Rheumatic  Fever  .- m  1 « 1  its 
Treatment  l»\  1st,  Alkalies;  2nd,  Blisters.  The  Nat- 
ural Ikraree  of  Acute  Idiopathic  Pleurisy  and  it-  Treat- 
ment, l>\  Calomel  and  (>iiiii,n,  with  Fomentations 
Iodide  of  Potassium  and  The  Natural  Course  of  .I-"/' 

"  It  was  resolved  to  circulate  the  subjoined  ques- 
tions among  the  medical  men  of  the  United  Kingdom  : 
Queries — Have  you  found  any  of  the  following  drugs, 
viz.:  Digitalis,  Cantharides,  Chlorate  of  Potash,  Bel- 
ladonna, Arsenic,  Quinine,  and  Tincture  of  the  Muriate 
of  Iron  (  as  distinguished  from  the  other  forms  of  iron,  i 
particularly  useful  in  any  special  form  of  disease? 
In  what  form  of  preparation,  and  in  what  doses,  are 
you  in  the  habit  of  administering  these  drugs?  and 
what  results  have  you  observed  to  follow  their  admin- 
istration in  the  diseases  to  which  you  refer'.'  Can 
you,  from  your  personal  knowledge,  give  any  informa- 
tion respecting  the  use  and  doses  of  any  drug,  not 
commonly  employed  or  particularly  useful  in  your 
practice?  or  can  you  give  information  as  to  any  fact  in 
Therapeutics  not  commonly  known  to  the  Profession?" 

Here,  then,  is  an  authorative  declaration  of  the 
helpless  ignorance,  concerning  diseases  and  drugs, 
which  now  characterizes  the  profession,  after  all  the 
accummulated  experience  of  centuries,  acquired  by 
physicking  countless  thousands  to  death.  It  is  for  the 
common  sense  of  the  public  to  judge  of  the  estimation 
in  which  physic  and  physicians  ought  justly  to  be  held 
in  the  face  of  such  confessions  of  deplorable  ignor- 
ance, made  by  the  luminaries  of  the  profession. 


—  122  — 

Rheumatic  fever,  pleurisy,  and  eczema  are  ordinary 
diseases,  and  yet,  these  physic-sages  admit  they  are 
without  any  recognized  mode  of  treatment,  and  want 
to  know  something  about  their  "  natural  history"  and 
"  course  !"  and  then  look  at  the  list  of  potent  poisons, 
they  send  queries  through  the  country  to  glean  infor- 
mation concerning  poisons  they  are,  and  have  been 
dealing  out  daily,  in  varied  doses,  to  credulous  dupes, 
without  any  certainty  of  benefit,  but  the  reverse  ;  reck- 
lessly experimenting  on  diseases  they  know  little  about, 
and  with  poisons,  too,  of  which  they  know  less.  No 
wonder,  indeed,  the  celebrated  Dr  Bostock  declared 
every  dose  of  medicine  given  is  a  blind  experiment  upon 
the  vitality  of  the  patient. 

The  ancients,  we  know,  referred  all  diseases  to  a 
special  supernatural  origin,  and  their  ideas,  actually, 
were  not  more  clouded  than  those  of  modern  physi- 
cians, and  they  were  more  simple  and  less  harmful. 

Dr.  Hooper,  in  his  Lexicon  Medicum,  defines  disease 
thus  :  ' '  Any  deviation  from  the  natural  and  healthy 
action  of  the  whole  system,  or  of  any  particular  organ," 
in  which,  I  fully  concur,  and  have  from  the  first  year 
of  my  practice.  Disease  is,  then,  a  departure,  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  from  the  perfect  working  of  our 
vital  organism  which  constitutes  the  state  we  call  per- 
fect health.  Hence,  disease  is  an  effect  ordained  by 
the  Creator  to  follow  the  exposure  of  the  bodily  econ- 
omy to  certain  morbific  influences,  and  is,  therefore, 
subject  to  natural  laws  just  as  certainly  as  health  is 
subjected.      God  has  left  nothing  to  chance. 

Thus  we  arrive  at  a  great  truth — that,  as  the  Creator 
designed  the  normal  operations  of  our  vital  organism 


—  123  — 

to  be  productive  of  health  only,  the  phenomena  which 
in  distinguish  as  disease  can  never  be  tfu  legitimati 
result  of  thos(  operations,  bul  musl  be  induced  i>\  some- 
thingfthal  has  interfered  with,  and  impaired  their 
natural  and  healthful  action.  Now,  we  have  seen  thai 
the  Creator  has  endowed  the  human  organism  with  a 
preservative  principle— the  "  Vis  Medicatrix  Natures," 
whose  function  is  to  resisl  the  conflicting  influences 
thai  tend  l<>  the  decay  and  death  of  all  organized 
matter. 

Thus,  we  arrive  at  a  second  greal  truth — that  disease, 
in  its  first  or  incipient  stage,  is  nothing  more  than  an 
excess  of  healthy  action  by  the  preservative  principles 
to  resist  some  disturbing  cause.  This  is  no  new  doc- 
trine— no  new  departure — hut  IS  lost  sight  of  by  the 
profession,  and  not  taught  in  the  schools  of  medicine. 

Bui  this  greal  truth  was  taught  by  Hippocrates  two 
thousand  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  was  revived  and 
leproclaimed  by  Sydenham,  the  "  English  J/iji/m- 
<■  rules,"  some  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  it  is  admit- 
ted by  scientific  Pathologists,  that,  primarily,  disease  is 
a  remedial  effort  of  nature.  This  constitutes  the  only 
rational  and  solid  foundation  on  which  a  natural  sys- 
tem of  therapheutics  can  possibly  exist.  Correctly 
understanding  what  disease  is,  and  knowing  nature  act- 
to  preserve  the  integrity  of  her  own  organism,  the  only 
legitimate  office  of  the  physician  is  at  once  clearly  and 
positively  defined,  "as  that  of  the  servant  and  inter- 
preter of  nature.*'  But  such,  I  regret  to  say,  is  not 
the  case,  so  far  as  my  knowledge  goes — (of  course, 
there  are  except  ions  to  all  rules) — hut  a  large  majority 
of  the  Regular  School  (so-called)  Physician-  do  so 
magnify  their  own  importance,  and  augment  their  intlu- 


—  124  — 

ence,  that  it  has  encouraged  mischievous  delusions 
respecting  disease,  and  their  ability  and  capacity  to 
"  cure  "  it,  until  a  credulous  belief  in  their  "  say  so" 
has  become  a  popular  superstition,  transmitted  from 
generations  of  dupes  and  victims. 

In  relation  to  disease,  and  the  true  principles  and 
the  means  of  cure,  the  most  universal  and  lamentable 
ignorance  prevails  among  mankind. 

People  generally  consult  their  physician  as  those  who 
are  skilful  to  prescribe  remedies  that  will  hill  disease. 
Many,  indeed,  seem  to  think  that  their  physicians  can 
take  disease  out  of  them  and  put  health  into  them,  by 
the  direct  application  of  remedies  themselves,  when 
skilfully  chosen  and  applied,  of  its  own  intrinsic  vir- 
tue directly  imparts  health  to  the  body.  This  erron- 
eous notion  of  course  leads  people  to  place  implicit 
confidence  in  drugs.  The  result  of  this  error,  in  the 
first  place  is,  mankind  do  not  believe  that  their  own 
dietetic,  and  other  voluntary  habits,  have  much,  if 
anything,  to  do  with  the  preservation  of  health,  or  the 
prevention  of  disease.  In  the  second  place,  when  ill 
they  expect  to  be  cured  by  the  sovereign  power  of 
drugs  alone,  and  in  the  third  place  they  are  ever 
ready  to  run  after  those  who  are  loudest  and  confident 
in  their  pretensions,  and  in  this  selfish  world,  open 
the  door  for  unbounded  empircism  and  quackery,  call 
it  regular  practice  or  otherwise.  Such  a  state  of  things 
is,  no  doubt,  primarily  referable  to  public  ignorance  ; 
and  by  the  way  I  may  say  it  here  and  now,  that 
my  main  object  in  issuing  this  "  Hand-Book"  is  to 
educate  the  masses,  to  make  them  rely  upon  them- 
selves to  keep  well,  and  when  sick,  how  to  get  well 


—  1 25  — 

without  resorting  to  drugs — but  more  particularly  to 
convince  them  thai  they  need  not  expect  thai  they 
can  atone  for  violating  physiological  laws,  03  closing 
their   eyes   and    Bwallowing   "like   a    young   robin," 

everything  a  doctor  \    put   into  their  mouths ;    for 

people  educated  in  the  law-  of  life  and  health,  could 
net  become  dupes  and  victims  of  tin1  popular  drug 
sj  stem. 

The  greal  truth  to  be  borne  in  mind  is,  that  nature 
works  in  disease  equally  as  in  health — the  producl  |  so 
to  speak,  i  of  the  perfect  working  of  our  organism  is 
health — the  product  of  tin-  imperfect   working  of  the 

same  organism  i>  disease.  But  most  medical  men  talk 
and  write  as  if  nature  was  only  present  in  health,  and 
that  something  they  consider  unnatural  was  present  in 
disease.  This  is  not  a  mere  quibble  about  words.  It 
is  a  matter  of  deep  practical  importance,  for  remedies 
are  supposed  to  be  given  to  cure  disease.  But  the 
term  disease,  being  perpetually  applied  to  designati 
diseased  conditions ,  it  can  thus  be  seen  that  drugs  are 
perpetually  administered  to  cure  symptoms,  while  the 
disease  that  produced  those,  symptoms  is  entirely  over- 
looked and  unmolested.  No  wonder  such  remedies 
fail  !  But  the  above  facts  are  really  not  the  worst 
evils  that  result  from  such  mal-practice,  because  the 
certain  tendency  of  such  practice  is  for  mere  func- 
tional derangement  to  be  drugged  into  organic  disease, 
as  they  often  are.  while  the  drugs  swallowed  may 
cause  //'"•  and  more  frightful  form-  of  disease,  that  iii 
a  short  time  become  fatal. 

The  source  and  nature  of  disease  being  now  -..i.!:- 
tifically  and  rationally  understood,  the  reader  is  in  a 


— 126  — 

position  to  consider  the  appropriateness  of  the  rem- 
edies employed  by  the  (so  called)  Regulars,  as  curative 
or  palliative  in  its  treatment. 


Irregularities  of  the  Uterine  Functions. 


Dr.  Robertson,  the   Medical  Superintendent    of  the 
Sussex  Lunatic   Asylum,   England,  says;     "Insanity 
is  a  disease  depending  on,  and  associated  with  various 
functional  disorders,  :in<l  especially  with  the  perverted 
nutrition  of  the  organs  of  the  mind  and  derangements 
of  the  uterine  organs.     The  treatment  of  the  patho- 
logical    conditions     consists    not     in   the    mechanical 
administration  of  specifics,  but  in  the  rational  applica- 
tion of  the   principles  of  medicine  to   each  individual 
case.     The  indications  of  the  treatment  here  are,  to 
restore   the    balance    of  the    circulation    and    thus    to 
regulate  the  secretions  and  the  supply  of  blood  to  the 
brain,   and   so    to    restore   the   healthy    action    of  the 
uterus,  the  skin  and  the  brain.     Experience  teaches  us 
that  such  a  result  will  only  follow  the  slow  and  steady 
use    of    remedies    influencing  the  action  of  the  heart 
and  of  the  nervous   system.      Of  such  remedies,  none 
are  so    powerful,  or  so  certain   as   the  Turkish  Bath — 
and   1    find   the   continued  use,  in  such   case,   of  this 
remedy,  will,  through  its  soothing  action  on  the  nerv- 
ous system,  and  the  relief  it  affords  to  internal  con- 
gestion    by   determining  the    blood   to   the   surface, 

modify,  if   not  cure  the  Symptoms  Of    the  disease.      In 

irregularities  of    uterine   functions;    which    in   young 
<>-irls  is  often  complicated  with  mania,   I  have  found  in 


—  128  — 

several  cases  a  cure  follow  the  restoration,  through  the 
agency  of  the  bath,  of  the  healthy  uterine  action," 
and  he  goes  on  to  say  :  "  Setting  the  mental  symptoms 
aside,  I  would  here  state,  that  if  the  bath  had  only 
this  one  remedial  power  of  restoring  suppressed  men- 
struation, its  value  in  reducing  the  ills  resulting  from 
our  high  civilization  would  be  still  great." 

The  above  testimony,  in  favor  of  the  Turkish  Bath, 
is  a  short  extract  taken  from  a  report  made  to  the 
house  of  Parliament  by  a  committee  composed  of 
the  ablest  physicians,  appointed  by  Parliament,  to 
investigate  the  workings  of  the  bath  in  government 
asylums  where  it  had  been  introduced. 

It  answers  so  well  for  a  text,  from  which  I  wish  to 
write,  although  I  have  had  but  little  practical  experi- 
ence with  insanity,  yet  it  goes  far  to  substantiate  what 
I  propose  to  say  upon  uterine  diseases  which  have 
come  under  my  observation  during  the  past  twelve 
years — names,  dates,  and  details,  of  course  will  be 
omitted,  so  that  only  those  who  may  see  their  own 
particular  cases  mentioned,  will  ever  know  who  the 
patients  were  ;  consequently,  I  violate  no  confidences. 
Among  the  hundreds  of  uterine  cases  that  have  been 
under  mv  care,  I  do  not  call  to  mind  a  sino-le  case  of 
failure  (where  the  patient  has  faithfully  followed  out 
our  instructions)  in  suppressed  menstruation.  Even 
where  the  general  health  had  failed — and  many  cases 
where  the  patient  had  been  invalided  for  months — 
and  irregular  for  years.  In  one  case  of  suppressed 
menstruation  with  severe  constipated  habit,  where 
dementia  was  fully  developed,  a  course  of  less  than 
twenty  baths,  restored  the  patient  to  permanent  good 


—  129  — 

health.      This    was    accomplished    in    less    than    two 
months  t  i  1 1 1 « • . 

Another  peculiar  case  of  irregularity,  was  treated 
for  several  months,  where  dementia,  at  last,  was  the 
most  alarming  symptom.  Her  friends  and  her  physi- 
cians had  decided  to  take  her  to  a  private  insane 
asylum,  but  some  good  Samaritan  suggested  to  them 
l  In-  Turkish  Hath — as  the  person  had  a  sister  in  London 
who  was  similarly  affected  and  was  cured  by  the 
sweating  bath  —  for  weeks  the  poor  girl  would  not 
(•(in-cut  to  a  trial.     Said  she  had  no  desire  to  gel  well  ; 

that  no  bath  could  he  of  any  use,  etc.,  etc.,  lint  her 
mother  and  good  friends  brought  her  to  the  hath 
for  days.  It  was  a  painful  and  thankless  task,  but 
after  a  few  weeks  treatment,  the  catamenial  periods 
returned,  and  from  that  day  to  this  she  has  been  regu- 
lar, and  all  the  secretions  normal — perfect  health. 
She  has  been  restored  to  her  family  and  friends,  and 
returned  to  her  social  position,  where  she  had  been 
before  her  sickness,  the  bright  particular  star.  These 
two  cases  alone,  ought  to  convince  the  most  skeptical 
physician  that  it  is  a  subject  that  should  not  he 
sneered  at  by  the  most  profound  regular,  and  that  the 
question  of  heat  and  the  diaphoresis  of  the  hot  air 
hath  in  such  cases,  are  facts  and  realities  which  they 
never  dreamed  of  in  their  philosophy,  and  they  can 
not  much  longer  shirk  the  responsibility.  In  uterine 
irritations,  in  all  their  different  phases,  the  hath  works 
wonders.  The  best  feature  of  the  hath,  however,  is 
that  where  the  hath  is  used  by  young  persons  a-  a 
custom,  (say  from  week  t<>  week)  no  such  troubles 
will  occur,  for  the  general  health  i->  improved  and  all 
the  organs  of  the  body  are  kept  in  a  normal  condition. 


The  Natural  Test  of  What  Can  Prove 
Remedial  in  Disease. 


It  is  a  fundamental  law  of  man's  economy,  that 
whatever  does  not  aid  the  purposes  of  nutrition,  must, 
whsn  taken  into  the  system,  prove  more  or  less  injuri- 
ous. The  functions  and  purposes  of  nutrition  are  the 
sole  sustainer  of  life  and  health,  and  we  know  that 
the  primary  source  of  disease  is  mal-nutrition.  Nature 
has  thus  supplied  an  infallible  test  by  which  to  try  all 
things  that  may  be  proposed,  as  remedial  in  diseases, 
— they  must  be  in  harmony  with  the  purposes  of  nutri- 
tion— they  must  aid  and  sustain  nutrition  itself — they 
must  conduce  to  its  perfect  existence  and  action—not 
derange  and  corrupt,  thwart  or  pervert  it. 

Now,  whatever  does  not  assimilate  with  the  human 
system — that  is,  whatever  does  not  contribute  to  the 
purposes  of  perfect  nutrition,  feeding  and  sustaining 
vitality,  must  necessarily  be  non-natural  to  the  system, 
and  more  or  less  injurious,  and  whatever  is  so  intro- 
duced into  the  system,  the  vital  principle  seeks  forth- 
with to  expel ;  but  its  expulsion  caunot  be  effected 
without  an  expenditure  of  vital  force  the  inevitable 
effect  of  which  is  to  leave  the  system  in  a  weaker  con- 
dition than  it  was  before.  Dr.  Edward  Johnson,  of 
London  (whose  authority  no  one  will  dispute,)  says  : 


—  131  — 

"By  introducing  firsl  into  the  stomach,  and  through 
it  into  the  blood,  certain  acrid  and  irritating  substances, 

railed    purgatives,    the    stomach,     which     was    healthy 

before,  is   now   nauseated,    its    lining    membrane    is 

inflamed,  its  nerves  irritated,  and  its  functions  dis- 
turbed.    Ets    peace   and    quiet,    if    I    may   so    speak, 

is  interrupted  and  broken.  From  the  stomach  the 
irritating  substance  passes  by  absorption  directly  into 
the  Mood,  and  thence  by  circulation  into  all  the  im- 
portant organs — heart,  Lungs  and  brain — which  become 
irritated  in  their  turn,  till,  presently,  that  remarkable 
power  called  the  conservative  principle,  which  is  ever 
on  the  watch,  to  preserve  the  living  machinery  from 
injury,  takes  the  alarm,  and  a  violent  effort  is  made  to 
free  the  blood  from  its  poisonous  presence,  and  its 
expulsion  finally  effected  through  the  bowels." 

Thus  one  of  the  most  palpable  effects  of  introducing 
purgatives  into  the  system  is  a  general  disturbance  of 
the  functions  of  nutrition  and  consequent  waste  of 
vitality  in  effecting  its  expulsion.  It  is  equally  true 
of  all  drugs — of  all  non-nutritious  substances  that  do 
not  assimilate  with  the  human  system.  All  the  organs 
of  the  living  body  have  separate  and  distinct  func- 
tions to  perform.  Each  organ  has  its  own  power  of 
protection,  or  in  other  words,  its  own  organic  instinct-, 
not  reasoning  entities,  however.  To  illustrate:  Anti- 
mony, or  Ipecacuana,  given  as  an  emetic  :  the  moment 
it  enters  the  stomach,  the  organic  instincts  recognize 
an  enemy ;  it  goes  to  work  and  pours  out  serous  fluid 
to  dilute  and  protect  itself  against  the  enemy,  and  con- 
tinues to  do  so  until  the  stomach  becomes  distended  to 
a  certain  extent .  When  it  can  contain  no  more,  then  by 
spasms  the  contents  are  ejected  by  what  i-  called  vomit- 


—  132  — 

ing  ;  but  it  is  not  always  the  case.  The  organic  instincts 
of  the  stomach  (as  I  have  said  above),  not  being  reason- 
ing entities  are  willing  to  throw  it  off  by  the  bowels  (any 
way  to  protect  itself),  and  then  your  beautiful  emetic 
acts  as  a  cathartic ;  the  bowels,  recognizing  an  enemy 
eject  the  enemy  it  has  just  received  from  the  stomach,  of- 
ten with  fearful  gripes  and  growls.  Take  the  Eye,  for 
instance,  to  further  illustrate  the  way  foreign  sub- 
stances disturb  the  equilibrium  of  the  system.  A  mote 
or  any  foreign  substance  in  the  eye,  the  very  same  re- 
sults follow — serous  fluid  is  poured  out  by  the  glands, 
the  eye  weeps,  and  usually,  if  let  alone,  will  succeed  in 
washing  it  out  and  protecting  itself  against  the  enemy. 
The  same  thing  occurs  when  you  get  a  sliver  or  splinter 
into  the  flesh — the  organic  instincts  come  to  the  rescue 
by  getting  up  an  inflammation,  suppurates,  and  the  en- 
emy is  ejected.  Mercury  in  its  different  forms  (the 
most  deadly  enemy  the  living  body  has  to  contend 
with),  is  supposed  to  act  directly  upon  the  glandular 
system,  simply  b.ecause  the  glands  show  the  biggest 
hind  of  a  fight,  to  protect  themselves  from  their  most 
deadly  foe.  Hence  the  fame  that  drug  has  achieved  in 
liver  and  the  glandular  troubles.  The  most  learned 
and  famous  physicians  never  giving  a  thought  to  the 
fact  that  the  organic  instincts  of  the  different  organs 
act,  and  promptly,  too,  instead  of  their  drug  !  When 
this  fact  is  realized  by  the  profession,  and  that  the 
' '  Vis-Medicatrix  Naturee  ' '  cures  disease  instead  of  their 
drugs,  they  will  be  less  anxious  in  assuming  that  their 
work  is  far  in  advance  of  their  Creator's  (for  that  is 
just  what  their  assumptions  amount  to),  when  you  hear 
a  physician  say,  "  I  cured  so-and-so,  and  I  cured  Mrs. 
S.  of  fever  of  a  very  violent  type,"  when  the  probabil- 


—  1 33  — 

[ties  are  Mrs.  S.  would  have  got  well  in  half  of  i  he  time, 
if  left  to  good  nursing  and   hygienic  treatment. 

In  closing  this  article  I  desire  to  repeat,  and  I  wish 

to  impress  ii  upon  mv  readers,  thai  drugging  is  opposi  d 
to  nature,  because,  perfed  nutrition  being  the  sole 
basis  of  perfect  health,  whatever  does  not  conduce  to 
nutrition — whatever  is  not  in  itself  nutritive,  cannol 
be  good  for  man. 

Imperfect  nutrition  is  not  only  disease,  hut  a  prolific 
source  of  disease  ;  consequently,  what  necessarily  tend- 
to  render  nutrition  more  imperfect  can  never  be  ration- 
ally presented  as  remedial  in  disease.  There  is  no 
proof  wkati  ver  that  any  drug  exerts  any  remedial  influ- 
ence over  any  disease — whereas,  as  Dr.  Wendell 
Holmes  observes,  "the  presumption  always  is,  that 
every  noxious  agent,  including  medicines  proper,  which 
hurts  a  well  man,  hurts  a  sick  one." 

Dr.  Holmes  also  said,  at  the  same  time,  and  on  the 
same  occasion,  before  the  "  Massachusetts  Medical 
Society,"  "  I firmly  believe  that  if  the  whole*  Materia 
M< il'tcit^  as  now  used,  could  b<  sunk  to  the  bottom  of 
the  sea,  it  ivouhl  be  all  the  better  for  mankind,  and  all 
the  worse  for  thefshesf" 

There  is  more  novelty  and  boldness  in  another  theory 
that  has  been  promulgated  by  a  Dr  Cotting,  in  a  work 
entitled,  "Disease  a  Part  of  the  Plan  of  Creation!" 

It  must  be  a  comfort  to  mankind,  under  the  torments 
of  disease,  and  reconcile  them  to  all  the  evils  of 
physic,  to  he  told,  that  the  fault  lies  not  with  them, 
for  that  disease  constitutes  a  part  of  the  plan  of  crea- 
tion !     To  have  any  rational  meaning,  this  must  imply 


—  134  — 

that  the  Creator  made  the  human  organization  so 
imperfect,  that  the  necessary  result  of  its  action  must 
be  disease.  This  is  an  audacious  implication  of  the 
Creator  to  palliate  the  errors  of  mankind,  alike  revolt- 
ing to  science  and  religion.  The  theory  is  physiologi- 
cally false,  and  contradictory  to  experience.  "  Disease 
is  never  the  legitimate  result  of  the  normal  operation 
of  any  of  the  organs.  The  natural  and  legitimate 
result  of  all  normal  operations  of  our  vital  economy  is 
always  health  and  only  health,  and  if  disease  is  induced, 
it  is  always  by  causes  which  disrupt  those  operations. 


Opposition  to  New  Truths. 


If  the  Hot  Ai>\  or  Turkish  Bath,  bo  <-;i1I<mI,  La  en- 
titled to  one-half  the  credit  claimed   for  it,  why  is  h 

that  the  faculty  do  not  accept  it  ?  Why  do  not  the 
boards  of  health  make  themselves  familiar  with  it- 
virtues,  (if  it  has  any?)  particularly  as  a  sanitary 
agent. 

We  have  been  interviewed  time  and  time  again 
upon  the  above  subject  In  fact,  the  question  is 
thought  to  be  by  those  who  ask  it,  a  cold  blanket — 
so  to  speak — unanswerable.  For  people  say  if  there 
is  any  merit  in  the  bath,  they,  the  doctors,  would  be 
the  first  ones  to  embrace  it,  and  prescribe  them  for 
their  patients.  Not  so,  at  all  If  we  reflect  on  the 
proverbial  inertia  of  the  professional  mind,  or  to 
expect  them  to  admit  anything  which  does  not  accord 
with  their  preconceived  opinions,  or  commend  itself  to 
the  accredited  dogmas  of  established  systems,  we 
cannot  be  surprised  that  the  "  Hot  Air  Bath  "  should 
have  had  to  encounter  the  silent  indifference,  or  open 
hostility  of  most  of  the  medical  profession — more 
especially  of  its  so-called  heads  and  leaders  of  the 
regulars.  The  well  attested  thereapeutic  properties 
which  it  presented  for  their  investigation  were  received, 
shameful  to  relate,  with  an  ignorant,  irrational  skepti- 
cism,   by    presumptuous  guides  of  medical    opinions. 


—  136  — 

Yet  these  very  men  would  eagerly  welcome  any  absur- 
dity in  the  shape  of  a  novelty  in  drugging — they  would 
accredit  any  speculative  nonsense  in  the  form  of  a 
theory  to  whitewash  manifest  imperfections  in  their 
empirical  art. 

And  so  it  has  ever  been  in  all  ages  of  the  world — 
while  those  who  endeavored  to  enlighten  and  improve 
mankind  "have  been  those  who  have  suffered  most 
from  ignorance,  and  the  discoverers  of  new  arts  and 
sciences,  have  hardly  ever  lived  to  see  them  adopted 
by  the  world." 

This  is  a  truth  that  is  written  on  nearly  every  page 
of  medical  history,  and  it  is  by  thus  looking  into  the 
proceedings  of  the  past  that  we  can  fairly  estimate  the 
worth  of  medical  opposition  when  it  is  directed  in  our 
day  against  airy  such  innovating  improvement  as  the 
bath.  Take  the  case  of  Harvey,  who  is  now  held  to 
be  "illustrious,"  demonstrated  to  his  class  session 
after  session  before  venturing  to  publish  it — his  grand 
discovery  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood — a  discovery 
that  reveals  to  us  the  admirable  mechanism  of  our 
being,  so  wonderful  in  design,  so  harmonious  in  its 
complexity,  and  yet  so  beautiful  in  its  simplicity. 
But  when  in  1628  he  (Harvey)  ventured  to  publish 
his  great  work,  what  was  the  result?  Did  medical 
men  welcome  and  embrace  so  glorious  a  discovery? 
Not  a  bit  of  it.  They  scouted  and  reviled  him  and 
his  discovery.  Harvey  actually  become  the  butt  of 
the  profession.  He  was  denounced  as  a  quack  and  an 
imposter,  and  they  called  him  a  dissecter  of  "frogs 
and  other  reptiles,"  that  he  was  cracked  brained,  etc. 
Harvey  lost  caste  as  well  as  patients,  says  Dr.  Petti- 


—  137  — 

grew,  bis  biographer,  and  be  farther  remarks,  thai  the 
labor  and  application  of  twenty-five  years  were  requi- 
site before  bis  discovery  and  opinion-  were  accepted. 

Sydenham,  the  mosl  celebrated  of  Euglish  physi- 
cians, who  has  been  st}  led  the  "  English  I  lyppocrates," 
a  man  of  greal  original  genius,  yel  because  be  endeav- 
ored to  elevate  medicine  from  the  depravity  and 
Corruption  in  which  it  was  sunk,  he  too,  was  reviled 
and  persecuted  by  those  who  considered  they  held 
voted  rights  in  the  gullibility  of  mankind. 

Similar  treatment  was  experienced  by  the  famous 
French  surgeon,  Ambrose  Pare,  who  proposed  to  tie 
the  arteries  in  amputations  with  a  silk  ligature,  instead 
of  the  then  barbarous  practice  of  seathing  with  a  hoi 

iron.  So  great,  indeed,  was  the  reluctance  to  abandon 
the  cruel  cautery,  that  nearly  one  hundred  years 
passed  before  the  first  French  surgeon  (Dronis) 
taught  and  recommended  Pare's  method.  Jenner, 
whose  discovery  has  immortalized  his  name  as  one  of 
the  greatest  benefactors  of  the  human  race,  was 
assailed  with  all  the  envenomed  malice  his  jealous  con- 
temporaries could  command.  What  !  said  they. 
Vaccinate  !  use  such  a  diabolical  invention  and  trans- 
form the  human  race  into  cows  and  oxen  ?  The  drug 
doctors  of  London  reported  cases  that  had  actually 
occurred  after  vaccination,  (reporting  the  same  for 
truths)  that  they  knew  of  cases  where  the  persons 
bodies  were  covered  with  hairs  and  protuberances  that 
betokened  the  development  of  horns  and  tails — and  in 
one  ease  where  a  young  lady  had  been  vaccinated, 
(giving  her  name  in  full)  was  bo  brutified  by  the 
operation,   that    she   would    persist    in    running  on  all-. 


—  138  — 


fours  and  lowing  in  imitation  of  a  cow.  Even  the 
pulpit  thundered  at  him  as  a  monster  of  presumption 
and  impurity.  A  learned  divine,  Eev.  Dr.  Eowley, 
declared  the  small-pox  to  be  "  heaven  ordained,"  and 
the  cow  pox  and  its  use,  a  "  daring  and  profane  viola- 
tion of  our  holy  religion." 

The  College  of  Physicians  not  only  refused  to  give 
Jenner  a  license  to  practice  medicine  in  the  city  of 
London,  but  advised  him  to  leave  the  city,  for  there 
was  no  knowing  what  an  enraged  populace  might  do  ! 

The  celebrated  John  Hunter,  whose  life  was  devoted 
to  anatomical  and  physiological  researches  of  inestima- 
ble value  to  mankind,  eulogized  as  the  greatest  phys- 
ioligist  the  world  has  ever  known,,  this  truly  great 
man  was  ridiculed,  maligned,  and  persecuted  by  the 
leading  practitioners  of  his  day,  who  were  incapable 
of  understanding  the  nature  and  value  of  his  profound 
scientific  labors.  Sir  Ashley  Cooper  informs  us  that  a 
famous  surgeon  was  hired  to  write  him  down. 

Sir  Charles  Bell  labored  for  nearly  forty  years  to 
elucidate  the  mysteries  of  the  nervous  system,  but  at 
every  step  his  investigations  were  cavilled  at,  his  con- 
clusions disputed,  and  the  merit  of  his  discoveries 
imputed  to  others.  The  history  of  anesthetics  in  our 
day,  affords  abundant  proof,  if  anything  more  were 
needed,  to  convince  the  public  that  the  profession  have 
invariably  been  opposed  to  all  innovations,  and  that 
those  to  whose  labors  the  world  is  indebted  for  many 
substantial  blessings  seldom  have  reaped  any  benefit 
from  them.  We  have  brought  these  few  illustrations 
of  medical  obstructiveness  before  the  reader  in  order 
,that  a  just  estimate  may  be   formed  of  the  value  of 


—  139  — 

medical  opinion  when  pronounced  in  opposition  to  any 
discovery  thai  promises  to  be  of  advantage  i<>  mankind  ; 
also,  to  answer  the  question  which  stands  at  the  bead 
of  i  bis  art  icle. 

Sir  Ashley  ( looper  -a\  s,  on  this  Bubjecl ,  "  Thai  per- 
sons who  objecl  to  a  proposition  merely  because  it  is 
new,  or  endeavor  to  detract  from  the  merit  of  the  man 
who  tirst  gives  efficacy toa  new  idea,  by  demonstrating 
its  use,  fullness  and  applicability,  are  foolish,  unmanlj  . 
envious  and  illiberal  objectors,  and  unworthy  of  the 
designation  either  of  professional  men  or  gentlemen  I" 

Now,  while  1  have  not  the  slightest  desire  or  ambi- 
tion to  write  myself  down  a  martyr,  or  confound  my 
name  with  Jenner,  Bell,  Pare,  Harvey  and  Sydenham, 
yet.  the  cases  are  not  altogether  dissimilar.  Medical 
ethics,  and  the  treatment  received  by  the  reformer  or 
innovator  from  the  medical  fraternity,  lias  changed 
but  little  for  the  last  live  hundred  year- — the  same 
persecution,  the  same  falsehoods,  the  same  abuse,  the 
same  ostracism  is  practiced  now  as  then.  Wherever 
it  can  gain  a  foothold,  of  course,  there  arc  honorable 
exceptions  to  the  general  rule,  but  the  profession,  </s  a 
rule,  are  much  like  sheep,  "they  follow  the  bell- 
weather,"  and  woe  lie  to  the  poor  fellow  who  does  not 
keep  himself  and  his  ideas  in  the  old  nit. 

To  illustrate  my  meaning:  A  man  may  be  honored 
and  respected — popular,  professionally  and  socially — 
while  he  moves  in  a  certain  groove,  but  let  that  same 
man  introduce  a  progressive  idea  in  medical  practice — 
say.  the  Turkish  Bath,  for  instance,  as  a  reinedia 
agent  in  disease — what  do  we  see?     He  is  ignored,  in 


—  140  — 

fact,  ostracised  prof essionally,  and  if  possible,  socially. 
His  best  efforts  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  his 
fellow-man  are  misrepresented,  and  a  wrong  construc- 
tion put  to  every  expression  he  may  utter,  or  act  that 
he  may  perform — as  much  as  to  say,  there  are  no 
honest  men  (professional)  outside  the  regulars. 

For  the  most  part,  however,  the  objections  that  have 
been  urged  against  the  Bath  are  of  a  very  frivolous 
character  and  not  over-worthy  of  serious  consideration , 
but  a  notice  of  them,  and  a  plain  statement  of  facts, 
that  the  profession,  as  a  rule — in  all  times,  on  all  occa- 
sions— oppose  all  innovation  in  the  healing  art,  if  not 
in  accordance  with  their  own  preconceived  notions  and 
prejudices. 


Legislative  Needs  for  Preserving  the 
Public  Health. 


Tin-:  Necessity  fob  Bathing    [n8titdtion8   is  Sani- 
taby  Aids,  and  why  Compulsory  Laws 
Should  be  Enacted  Govern- 
ing Thkii:  Use. 


Nearly  eight  years  ago  I  publicly  predicted  that  the 
time  would  soon  come  when  the  Turkish,  or  Hot-Air 
Bath,  would  be  introduced  into  many  of  our  hospitals 
in  this  city.  My  belief  was  predicated  upon  the  man- 
lier in  which  scientific  men,  especially  in  Europe,  were 
experimenting  with  the  Bath,  and  reporting  their  dis- 
coveries  in  such  flattering  comments  upon  its  unexam- 
pled efficacy  for  the  treatment  of  all  diseases.  In  fact, 
that  period  of  active  empirical  investigation,  which  was 
participated  in  by  the  ablest  medical  and  philosophical 
minds  in  England,  resulted  in  the  enactment  of  three 
several  acts  providing  for  the  voluntary  establishment 
of  public  bath-houses  under  government  supervision  ; 
and  in  pursuance  of  these  Laws  several  such  institutions 
were  so  far  projected  as  to  secure  necessary  appropria- 
tions, leaving  only  the  mechanical  work  unfinished. 
These  provisionary  measures  were  incited  and  pushed 
under  the  excitement  of  a  threatened  cholera  invasion  ; 


—  142  — 

but  before  the  intentions  of  the  act  were  consummated 
the  epidemic  abated,  and,  as  is  the  rule,  the  public  per- 
mitted apathy  to  defeat  the  excellent  measure  aroused 
under  the  realization  of  their  necessities.  This  pecu- 
liarity of  popular  indifference  after  immediate  danger 
passes,  has  distinguished  the  world  since  history  was 
in  its  swaddling  clothes.  We  observe  its  illustration  in 
cases  of  great  fires  attended  with  severe  loss  of  life ; 
such  calamities  give  birth  to  fire-escapes,  and  municipal 
bodies  are  generally  moved  to  discuss  proposed  ordi- 
nances requiring  the  construction  of  additional  safety 
exits  to  all  public  buildings  and  manufactories.  But 
before  the  completion  of  the  necessary  legislation  the 
horrors  of  the  calamity  are  passed,  and  the  public 
ao-ain  resume  their  indifference,  to  be  aroused  to  a  sim- 
ilar  sense  of  their  danger  again  by  the  next  great  ac- 
cident . 

In  the  profession  of  materia  medica  there  are  cer- 
tain principles,  though  very  few,  that  are  definitely 
known,  and  of  the  laws  of  Irygiene  there  is  but  a  par- 
tial understanding ;  but  it  seems  to  be  admitted  that 
the  knowledge  of  prophylactic  or  preventive  means  for 
avoidine  disease  are  much  better  understood  than  the 
principles  of  medicine  that  will  cure  :  and  yet,  anom- 
alous as  it  really  is,  the  profession  of  physic  in  its 
practice  comprehends  only  the  treatment  of  disease, 
rarely  ever  the  means  of  prevention — we  may  say 
never,  except  under  the  enforcement  of  a  threatened 
epidemic.  In  our  large  cities  we  have  provided,  by 
municipal  legislation,  dispensaries  for  the  apportion- 
ment of  medicines  to  the  indigent  sick,  and  besides 
these  there  are  public  hospitals  in  which  the  patients 
are  literally  fed  on  debilitating  drugs  and  nostrums, 


—  143  — 

because  our  forefathers  treated  the  sick  in  the  same 
manner  hundreds  of  years  ago.  Nobod)  doubts  the 
remedial  agency  of  the  hot-air  bath — nobody  questions 
the  fact  thai  its  general  use  would  arrest  the  develop- 
ment of  disease,  and  save  untold  numbers  of  Lives, 
which  are  now  being  sacrificed  to  the  treatmenl  sus- 
tained by  tradition  ;  but  these  facts  seem  powerless  t<> 
change  the  vicious  order  of  existing  things,  and,  power- 
fully a>  they  appeal  to  the  intelligence  of  what  we  es- 
teem, as  the  greatesl  civilization  of  any  period,  yet  the 
hand  of  detention  and  ancient  practice  arrests  our  pro- 
gress, and  leaves  us  grovelling  and  dying  in  the  slough 
paved  by  the  hones  of  our  ancestors. 

While  my  prediction,  made  some  years  ago,  respect- 
ing the  public  use  of  the  Turkish  Bath,  has  not  been 
verified  yet,  notwithstanding  the  lethargic  condition  of 
our  legislators,  I  still  have  an  abiding  faith  in  the  ulti- 
mate adoption  of  that  most  potential  remedial  and  pre- 
ventive agency,  especially  in  connection  with  our  hos- 
pitals and  asylums.  Medical  authorities,  to  which  the 
public  instinctively  turn  for  consultation  in  all  matters 
possessing  an  inferential  novelty,  are  united  upon  the 
declaration  expressed  by  the  British  Medical  Associa- 
tion, that  "  there  ought  to  he  baths  ofhotairand  warm 
water  in  every  city,  town  <nnl  village.  Xo  m<  dical 
institution  can  be  worthy  of  the  name  without  baths, 
for  disease  is  not  cured  by  mere  drugs  alone"  Another 
learned  medical  authority,  discussing  the  value  of  the 
hot-air  bath,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  same  associa- 
tion, used  the  following  terse  and  Logical  language  : 
"  We,  up  to  this  time,  have  always  paid  our  doctors 
for  curing  diseases,  not  for  preventing  them  :  and,  con- 
sequently,   very  little  of  this  unprofitable,  viz.,   'pre- 


—  144  — 

ventive  hygiene,  has  been  taught  in  our  schools,  or  is 
to  be  found  in  our  medical  treatises." 

Considering  with  what  universal  favor  and  exalted 
recommendation  the  hot  air  bath  has  been  received  by 
the  medical  profession  itself,  is  it  not  a  pertinent  and 
exceedingly  important  question,  "  Why  is  there  not 
some  legislation  providing  for  the  establishment  of 
such  bath  houses  in  the  asylums  and  hospitals,  and  in 
other  places  where  the  poor  can  receive  the  benefit  of 
this  salutary  treatment  gratis?  "  The  duty  which  the 
public  owes  to  the  unfortunate  must  be  acknowledged 
in  provision  for  their  care,  and  with  this  an  obligation 
is  created  on  the  part  of  the  community  to  administer 
the  most  effective,  and  at  the  same  time  least  expensive 
means  for  the  restoration  of  health,  and  the  preven- 
tion of  disease. 

Looking  at  this  question  in  a  philanthropic  and 
practical  view,  let  us  consider  the  inquiry,  "  What 
effect  would  the  hot  air  bath  produce,  were  it  intro- 
duced in  our  eleemosynary  institutions?  In  the  first 
place  to  secure  the  most  desirable  result  it  would 
be  necessary  to  make  the  management  compulsory,  i.  e. 
every  patient  would  be  compelled  to  receive  the  bath, 
properly  administered,  as  the  exigency  of  the  case 
might  require  ;  nothing  should  be  optional  on  the  part 
of  either  the  patient  or  attendant.  These  necessaxy 
conditions  being  observed,  the  results  can  readily  be 
anticipated.  In  the  place  of  drugs,  the  use  of  which 
can  never  fail  exerting  a  deleterious  influence  upon  the 
constitution  of  the  patient,  even  though  they  destroy 
the  disease,  would  in  a  large  measure  be  rendered 
useless.     Now,  if  the  bath  will  arrest  the  disease,  per- 


—  In- 
forming the  s;iliit;ir\  effects  of  the  drag,  without 
entailing  any  constitutional  injury,  then  it  musl  be 
admitted  a  great  Baving,  and  an  inestimable  benefit  has 
been  obtained.  The  question  is  now  reduced  t<»  :i  sim- 
ple consideration  of  the  remedial  and  sanitary  effects 
of  the  bath. 

If  the  hot  air  bath  possessed  an\  of  the  characteris- 
tics <>f  undetermined  novelty,  if  future  experiments 
were  necessary  to  prove  its  efficacy,  then  it  would  be 
the  part  of  wisdom  to  defer  its  adoption  until  such  a 
time  as  it-  usefulness  be  demonstrated  ;  but  it  has  none 

Of  these  feature-.       (  )u  the  other  hand,   it   i-  one  of  the 

oldest  and  besl  evidenced  prophylactic  and  curative 
known  in  Eastern  Europe,  and  the  earliest  ••enter  of 
civilization.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  confine  its 
proof-  of  value  to  tin1  old  world.  Here  in  the  United 
Stat.'-,  thanks  to  the  spirit  of  indomitable  energyin  its 
combat  with  ignorant  prejudice,  the  bath  has  won 
its  prize  medals,  and  demonstrated  its  hyperion  sover- 
eignty over  nauseating  drags  and  patent  nostrums. 
Confining  its  evidences  of  curative  effects  to  definite 
limit-,  we  can  Bay,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that 
in  St.  Louis  the  hot  air  bath  has  accomplished  such 
wonderful  cures  as  may  well  excite  the  earnest  inquiry 
of  conscientious  physicians,  many  of  whom  are  them- 
selves patrons  of  the  hath. 

This  subject  does  not  demand  a  learned  medical  dis- 
quisition, since  the  period  of  it-  experimental  existence 
has  long  since  passed.  It  is  now  upon  that  broad 
basis  of  public  necessity,  with  it-  virtues  so  conspicu- 
ous, that  it  justly  claims  recognition  by  our  state  and 
municipal  Legislators,  whose  thoughts  and  acts  should 
be  tempered  bv  the  appeal-  of  suffering  humanity. 


—  146  — 

Here,  then,  is  a  rich  field  for  active  philanthropic 
labor.  It  need  not  be  expected  that  local  authorities 
or  our  executive  administration  will  voluntarily  assume 
the  initiative  in  this  matter,  but  much  can  be  done  by 
well  directed  zeal,  to  instruct  them  respecting  its  im- 
portance, and  stimulate  them  to  exertion.  The  ma- 
chinery exists  by  which  this  great  blessing  can  be 
brought  home  to  those  who  want  it  most — the  helpless 
in  our  hospitals  and  asylums — and  the  cost  is  insig- 
nificant ;  in  fact,  the  cost  involves  economy.  We 
trust,  then,  that  a  true  spirit  may  move  those  who 
have  the  means  and  opportunity  to  take  this  matter 
up,  thereby  promoting  a  cause,  the  success  of  which 
may  yet  immortalize  some  spirit  akin  to  that  of  a 
Howard  or  a  Wilberforce. 


INSANITY. 


EXPERIMENTS    IX   TIIK   TREATMENT     OF    LUNACY    BY    THE 

USE    OP1    TIIK    HOT  AIU   P.  ATI  I — SUGGESTIONS    ON 
THE    NEEDS    OF    OUR    ASYLUMS,    ETC. 


Nothing  so  excites  the  compassion  of  the  race  as 
insanity,  that  most  dreadful  of  all  ills  mankind  is 
heir  to.  The  clouded  intelligence  can  only  be  com- 
pared to  a  soulless  body,  wandering  over  the  realms  of 
eternity,  listless,  vacant,  solitary  ;  an  incomprehensi- 
ble mystery  clothed  within  a  panoply  of  horrible  vet 
unconscious  misery.  Nothing  is  so  deserving  of  a 
universal  sympathy,  and  yet,  with  all  our  unctious  solici- 
tude for  these  most  unfortunate  fellow  beings,  their 
treatment,  considering  the  apathy  of  the  profession, 
to  say  the  least,  reflects  no  credit  upon  asylum  man- 
agement or  those  from  whom  relief  is  expected.  I 
will  not,  however,  withhold  the  meed  of  praise  due 
many  progressive  intellects,  through  whose  well  di- 
rected exertions  many  alleviating  influences  and  prac- 
tical means  have  been  adopted  which  have  resulted  in 
the  restoration  of  dethroned  reasons  and  the  salvation 
of  many  who  were  regarded  as  incurable  maniacs. 
For  the  slightest  benefit  accomplished  in  this  direction, 
humanity  in  general  should  feel  profoundly  grateful, 
and  be  quick  to  bestow  its  distinguishing  honor.-  upon 
the  deserving. 


—  148  — 

But  that  progress  has  been  provokingly  slow  is  too 
apparent.  The  study  of  mental  diseases  has  not 
brought  special  fruits  to  the  profession,  and  even  when 
the  pathological  causes  and  effects  are  partially  under- 
stood, the  apothecary's  aid  has  been,  upon  the  whole, 
as  injurious  as  beneficial.  The  question  "  why?  "  can 
hardly  be  anticipated  considering  the  enfeebled  condi- 
tion of  both  mind  and  body  of  demented  patients. 
Drugs,  to  produce  an  effect  upon  the  disorganized 
brain,  must  pass  through  every  capillary  avenue  in  the 
system,  leaving  its  deleterious  influence,  like  the  trail 
of  a  centipede,  through  every  fibre,  literally  eating  its 
way  to  the  seat  of  disease.  It  is  a  well  known  fact, 
demonstrated  by  the  profession  hundreds  of  times, 
that  in  all  patients  suffering  from  any  of  the  forms  of 
dementia,  the  skin  is  harsh,  over  which  a  crusted  exu- 
dation forms,  which  closes  the  pores  and  prevents  a 
free  perspiration.  Since  effete  matter  of  the  body 
can  only  escape  through  the  spiracles  of  the  skin,  any 
poison  that  is  given  internally  must  exert  a  doubly 
injurious  effect  on  the  body  that  is  already  suffering 
from  arrested  perspiration.  In  this  fact  is  found  the 
reason  why  medicine  produces  so  few  favorable  results 
in  the  treatment  of  dementia. 

Some  years  ago  the  subject  of  hydropathic  treat- 
ment was  brought  before  the  medical  associations  of 
Ireland  by  Dr.  Barter  who,  in  an  exhaustive  discourse, 
demonstrated  its  advantages  so  conclusively,  that  Dr. 
Power,  Resident  Medical  Superintendent  of  the  Cork 
District  Lunatic  Asylum,  became  so  much  interested 
in  the  treatment,  that  upon  his  recommendation  the 
Hot  Air  Bath  was  introduced  into  the  institution,  first, 
as  a  matter  of  experiment.     Dr.   Barter  was  selected 


— 149  — 

to  administer  the  bath,  and  the  success  of  treatment 
is  told  in  the  following  reporl  which  was  incorporated 
in  a  lecture  he  afterwards  publicly  delivered. 

"The  first  persons  submitted  to  its  influence  were 
much  pleased  with  it,  and  were  anxious  i<>  go  in  again. 
Once  in  the  week  was  the  time  at  firsl  appointed  for 
its  use,  which  was  gradually  made  more  frequent,  and 
after  about  .four  months  use  of  it  I  found  seventeen 
persons  had  been  entirely  cured  by  it  and  sent  home  to 

their  friends.       The  cases  to  which   I  allude  were  a  ] « > i ) < > 

c 

time  in  the  house,  and  class! il<  (l  tht  incurables." 

"After  some  months  further  experience  of  its  bene- 
ficial action,  new  arrangements  were  made,  which 
enabled  me  to  use  it  more  frequently  and  more  gen- 
erally, and  since1  then  from  fifty  to  eighty  patients  are 
daily  submitted  to  its  influence,  many  for  its  remedial 
action,  but  the  greater  number  for  motives  of  cleanli- 
ness. Even  these  latter  are  wonderfully  improved  in 
appearance  by  its  use,  and  have  acquired  the  ruddy 
glow  of  health,  instead  of  the  pale  and  sickly  look  of 
invalids." 

"Those  who  had  suffered  a  relapse  after  having 
been  sent  out  cured,  showed  no  unwillingness  to 
return  to  the  asylum,  and  even  asked  to  be  taken 
there  at  once,  in  order  that  they  might  gel  the  hath, 
as  they  considered  nothing  else  would  cure  them.  I 
never  have  seen  any  ill  effects  from  the  use  of  the 
Bath  except  a  little  nausea  and  a  slight  fainting  in 
a  few  instances,  but  after  a  bath  or  two,  these  effects 
disappear." 

Dr.  Loekhart  Robertson,  the  medical  superintendent 


—  150  — 

of  the  asylum,  says:  "As  regards  the  use  of  the 
bath  in  the  treatment  of  mental  diseases,  I  continue  to 
entertain  the  most  favorable  opinion.  As  yet  we  have 
no  specific  in  the  cure  of  insanity,  such  as  quinine  is 
for  ague  ;    and  I  for  one,  do  not  look  for  such." 

Insanity  is  a  disease  depending  on  and  associated 
with  various  functional  disorders,  and  especially  with 
the  perverted  nutrition  of  the  organ  of  the  mind, 
as  well  as  of  the  genital  organs.  The  indications  here 
are  to  restore  the  balance  of  circulation,  and  thus  to 
regulate  the  secretions  and  the  supply  of  blood  to  the 
brain,  and  so  restore  the  healthy  action  of  the  uterus, 
the  skin  and  the  brain.  Experience  teaches  us  that 
such  a  result  will  only  follow  the  slow  and  steady  use 
of  remedies  influencing  the  action  of  the  heart  and  of 
the  nervous  system.  Of  such  remedies,  few  are  more 
powerful  in  their  action  than  the  Hot  Air  Bath,  and  I 
find  that  by  the  continual  use  in  such  a  case,  this  remedy 
will,  through  its  soothing  action  on  the  nervous  system, 
and  the  relief  it  affords  to  internal  congestions,  by  deter- 
mining the  blood  to  the  surface,  modify,  if  not  cure,  the 
symptoms  which  mental  diseases  present. 

These  few  words  on  the  use  of  the  bath  in  the  treat" 
ment  of  the  insane  would  be  incomplete,  were  I 
to  omit  to  notice  a  specific  power  to  remove  the  nox- 
ious secretions  of  the  skin  so  frequent  with  the  insane, 
and  which  in  the  asylums  of  twenty  years  ago,  one 
could  recognize  as  distinctly  as  the  smell  of  a  dog 
kennel,  and  which  still  refuses  to  yield  to  ordinary  ab- 
lutions. The  Bath  entirely  removes  this  unpleasant 
complication.  The  Bath  as  a  remedial  agent  is  grate- 
ful  to   the   feelings    of  the  insane,  and   which   they 


— 151 — 

do  not.  Like  other  means  of  bathing  or  washing,  asso- 
ciate with  the  idea  of  punishment  ." 

Dr.  Power's  interest  in  the  results  of  the  bath  in- 
creased to  such  an    extent    1  1 1 : 1 1   he    not   onlv    made  it  :i 

permanent  adjuncl  to  the  asylum,  but  exerted  his  in- 
linenee  to  extend  the  benefits  of  the  bath  to  other 
similar  institutions,  especially  throughout  Ireland. 
In  a  subsequent  report  he  states  that,  through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  bath,  the  percentage  of  perma- 
nent cures  increased  from  fifty-nine  to  seventy-six, 
while  .the    death    rate    decreased  one-half.      Under  his 

immediate  supervision  the  hath  was  daily  administered, 
and  in  certifying  to  the  effects,  Dr.  Power  uses  the 
following  language  in  his  printed  report : — 

"The  managers  of  the  Limerick  District  Lunatic  Asy- 
lum, in  view  of  the  beneficent  results  of  the  Bath,  also 

introduced  it  in  their  asylum,  and  Dr.  Fitzgerald,  the 
resident  medical  superintendent,  as  well  as  Dr.  Lock- 
hart  Robinson,  superintendent  at  the  Hey  wood  Heath 
Asylum  in  Essex,  where  the  Bath  was  also  introduced, 
certified,  in  the  highest  terms,  to  the  curative  proper- 
ties of  the  treatment.  The  interest  extended  until  the 
British  Medical  Journal  contained  paper  after  paper 
from  the  most  distinguished  practitioners,  all  pro- 
nouncing the  Turkish  Bath  an  indispensable  auxiliary 
in  the  treatment  of  the  insane." 

Among  a  large  number  of  other  similar  cases  cited, 
illustrating  the  curative  effects  of  the  Bath,  Dr  Robinson 
relates  the  following  in  the  medical  journal  mentioned  : 

"  A  patient  was  admitted  to  the  asylum  in  February 
apparently  in  a  state  of  confirmed  dementia,  restless 
and  destructive,  complicated  with  dropsy  and  albumin- 


— 152  — 

aria,  and  threatened  with  paralysis.  Until  the  10th  of 
Ma j  following,  he  was  treated  with  all  the  usual  reme- 
dies, but  in  spite  of  these  he  steadily  lost  ground  ;  the 
delusions  increased,  while  the  bodily  health  gave  way ; 
cedema  of  the  limbs  set  in,  and  he  was  so  weak  that 
it  was  necessary  to  carry  him  to  the  Bath,  which  was 
first  administered  to  him  on  the  10th  of  May.  The 
result  of  the  hydropathic  or  hot  air  bath  treatment 
was  that  in  six  weeks,  the  patient,  who  was  a  carpen- 
ter, resumed  his  trade,  and  in  six  months  he  was  dis- 
charged from  the  asylum,  sound  in  both  mind  and 
body,  and  able  to  earn  a  comfortable  livelihood." 

The  Bath  has  also  been  introduced  in  the  Colony 
Hatch  Asylum,  and  Dr.  Sheperd,  the  superintendent, 
pronounces  it  a  wonderful  success,  and  has  taken 
so  much  interest  in  the  treatment  that  he  has  written  a 
learned  pamphlet  on  the  subject.  In  every  place 
where  the  bath  has  been  tried  it  has  won  the  favors 
of  its  former  bitter  foes,  and,  thanks  to  the  intelligence 
of  the  progressive  spirits  of  the  profession,  it  is  being 
constantly  extended  throughout  England. 

Discussing  this  question  in  our  own  homes,  why  can 
we  not  have  the  bath  introduced  at  our  insane  asylums  ? 
If  it  has  accomplished  so  much  in  Europe,  why  not 
receive  the  benefits  of  its  healing  virtues  in  our  own 
city?  The  terrible  anguish  of  the  unfortunate  beings 
who  rave  and  fret  in  their  dismal  confinements,  appeals 
to  humanity  in  such  manner  that  to  neglect  them  is 
a  crime  which  shames  the  name  of  mercy.  The  cost 
is  insignificant,  while  the  promise  is  pregnant  with 
good  assurances  ;  therefore  delay  has  no  excuse  for  a 
back-o;round. 


— 153  — 

Public  officials  are  slow  to  move:  bul  there  ie  do 
proper  reason  f'<>r  manifesting  an  indifferenoe  which 
bars  the  doors  of  safety  againsl  mankind.  An  agenl 
al  once  safe,  powerful,  agreeable  and  economical 
is  offered,  fully  tested  i»\  experience,  and  certified  as 
incomparable  in  relieving  various  phases  of  this  mosl 
terrible  affliction.  Is  it  creditable  to  the  civilization 
and  intelligence  of  our  age,  thai  an  active  philanthro- 
phisl  should  be  wanting  to  make  it  available? 


Turkish  Baths  for  Lunatics. 


The  condition  of  insane  persons  in  this  State  is  at 
present  receiving  some  attention  from  the  Legislature. 
A  few  days  ago,  the  State  Board  of  Charities  presented 
a  report  upon  the  subject,  in  which  were  included  the 
results  of  inquiry  as  to  the  number  of  insane  persons 
in  the  State,  the  proportion  regarded  as  practically 
incurable,  the  extent  of  the  provision  already  made  for 
their  proper  care  and  treatment ;  and  also,  what  further 
provision,  if  any,  the  State  should  be  called  upon  to 
make  for  its  incurable  insane. 

From  this  report,  it  appears  that  the  total  number 
of  insane  persons  in  Illinois  is  upward  of  3,000,  or 
about  one  in  846  of  the  entire  population.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  eighty  per  cent.,  or  2,400  are  incurable. 
There  are  three  State  hospitals,  and  two  private  hospi- 
tals, which,  with  the  Cook  County  Hospital,  furnish 
accommodation  for  1,130  patients.  The  completion  of 
the  two  State  hospitals  now  building  will  add  about 
570  beds,  making  provision  for  a  total  of  about  1,700 
patients,  leaving  1,300  still  unprovided  for,  except  in 
county  almshouses  and  yards  and  private  families. 
There  are  640  insane  persons  in  county  almshouses) 
and  nine  in  jails. 

In  the  language  of  the  report,  the  condition  of  the 
649,    last   named,    "is,  for  the  most  part,  extremely 


—  155  — 

unfortunate.     *  *    The  diet,  cursing,    medical 

attendance  and  associations  of  the  insane  are  horribly 

inferior  and  cruel.     Ii  is  a  <•0nniK.11  thing  for  the  insane 

patient,  of  whom  the  keeper,  more  or  less,  entertains 
dread,  to  be  shut  up  for  months  or  years  in  a  close 
apartment,  unwarmed,  unfurnished,  and  in  this  situa- 
tion his  wasting  life  is  passed;  often  without  clothing 
other  than  a  blanket,  or  bedding  other  than  a  Litter  of 
straw."  The  report  says  further:  "  The  confinement 
of  insane  persons  in  any  county  jail  is,  we  believe, 
under  the  present  code,  entirely  illegal,  yet  we  have 
known  such  confinement  to  last,  in  one  instance,  seven 
years." 

There  are  various  other  items  of  interest  in  the 
report,  and,  as  a  whole,  the  document  is  excellent  read- 
ing for  Lent.  It  is  full  of  impressive  lessons.  Here 
is  a  matter  concerning  the  most  pitiable  form  that 
suffering  humanity  presents,  and  with  all  our  enlight- 
enment we  arc  shown  to  be  but  little  in  advance  of  our 
barbarous  ancestors  in  the  amount  and  character  of  the 
attention  we  give  to  it.  Humane  and  cultured  thou- 
sands will  crowd  the  church  edifices  to-day,  and  the 
services  will  be  peculiarly  solemn.  Christian  society 
will  assume  the  garb  of  humanity  and  contrition  in 
remembrance  of  one  who  suffered  at  the  hands  of  man 
and  devil  nearly  two  thousand  years  ago.  The  memory 
of  the  forty  days  of  privation  in  the  wilderness  is 
revived  and  perpetuated  by  the  observance  of  Lenten 
customs  all  the  world  over.  How  fitting  the  occasiOD 
for  calling  to  mind  the  condition  of  the  thousands  who 
wander  year  after  year  in  the  wilderness  of  mental 
death,  and  from  whom  the  light  of  reason  is  shut  out 
forever  ! 


— 156  — 

The  subject  is  worthy  of  attention  particularly 
because  it  presents  a  field  for  humanitarian  effort  most 
promising  of  reward.  The  question  of  alleviating  the 
condition  of  the  insane  is  not  the  most  important  mat- 
ter in  connection  with  it.  The  certainty  that  a  large 
proportion  could  be  restored  to  reason,  if  proper  means 
were  applied,  constitutes  the  paramount  demand  of 
this  subject  upon  the  attention  of  Christian  society.  It 
is  a  shocking  reflection  upon  civilization  to  assert  that 
not  more  than  one-fifth  of  these  unfortunates  are 
curable.  The  means  are  easily  within  the  reach  of  the 
authorities,  whereby  the  ratio  of  cures  can  be  doubled, 
and  probably  still  further  increased ;  and  this  can  be 
done  without  any  considerable  outlay  in  the  way  of 
money  or  attention. 

One  simple  and  practical  means  for  producing  this 
result  may  be  found  in  the  introduction  of  the  Turkish 
Bath  in  all  institutions  where  insane  persons  are  con- 
fined. The  use  of  this  bath  and  the  benefits  arising 
therefrom  are  not  matters  of  experiment.  The  bath 
has  been  extensively  used  in  insane  asylumns  in  Great 
Britain,  with  astonishing  results.  From  a  report  made 
to  the  House  of  Commons  upon  this  subject,  it  appears 
that  the  Turkish  Bath  was  first  introduced  in  the  lunatic 
asylum  at  Cork,  Ireland,  in  1861.  During  the  next 
two  years  the  per  cent  of  cures  effected  was  increased 
from  twenty  to  forty,  and  the  ratio  of  deaths  was 
decreased  in  the  same  proportion.  The  report  says  : 
"  The  Turkish  Bath  is  very  tranquilizing  in  its  effects. 
It  is  very  agreeable  to  them,  and  many  regard  it  as  a 
luxury.  Its  salutary  effect  has  been  of  a  marked  char- 
acter. It  fulfills  all  expectations."  The  resident 
physician  at  this  institution,  in  a  public  address,  stated 


—  1")7  — 

thai  after  a  few  mouths'  use  of  the  bath  seventeen 
persons  who  ha<l  been  a  long  time  in  the  establishment, 
and  had  been  regarded  as  incurable,  were  cured  by  it, 
ami  sent  In  their  homes. 

The  application  of  the  hot-air  bath  in  cases  of  insan- 
ity produced  i>\  physical  causes  is  strictly  in  accordance 

with  the  principles  of  medicine  ami  common  Ben86. 
The  inaction  of  the  skin  and  a  disagreeable  odor  from 
the  body  are  usually  associated  with  these  cases.  The 
instances  where  the  suspension  of  the  function-  of  the 
skin  as  an  excreting  organ  are  not  associated  with  the 
affliction  as  an  important   cause,  are   care  exceptions, 

except  where  the  disease  has  been  inherited.  It  i-  a 
well-known  fact  that  the  wives  of  farmers  furnish  a 
lame  majority  of  the  cases  of  lunacy  in  the  United 
States.  This  has  been  attributed  to  the  immense  labor 
they  perform.  Is  it  not  more  sensible  to  attribute  it 
to  the  fact  that  their  means  of  keeping  the  body  clean 
during  a  life  of  toil  are  exceedingly  limited?  It  has 
been  demonstrated  that  the  bath  is  a  most  potent 
agency  in  restoring  the  healthful  action  of  the  skin, 
and  hence  the  beneficial  results  of  its  application  in 
cases  of  insanity.  It  is  believed  that  it  has  never  been 
applied  in  this  country,  but  sufficient  is  known  of  its 
beneficent  action  to  warrant  and  demand  its  introduc- 
tion, on  trial  at  least,  in  some  of  the  institutions  where 
are  now  harbored  the  3,000  lunatics  in  this  State. — 
Chicago  Times. 


CONSUMPTION. 


Theories  or  its  Causes  and  Treatment. 


One  of  the  most  interesting  theories  in  regard  to 
Consumption,  or  tubercular  diseases  of  the  lungs,  is 
due  toMacCormac,  a  name  of  eminent  distinction  among 
European  medical  authorities,  his  investigations  leading 
him  to  maintain  that  this  malady  is  caused  solely  by 
"breathing  air  which  has  already  passed  through  the 
lungs  of  man  or  other  animals — that  is,  air  that  is  de- 
ficient in  oxygen — the  inhalation  of  air  already  respired 
being  accompanied  by  the  retention  of  unoxygenized 
carbon,  or  the  dead,  poisonous  carbon  within  the  body 
of  the  organism.  The  effete  matter  he  considers  to  be 
the  starting-point  in  the  fatal  tubercle — that  is,  not  that 
it  is  to  be  assumed  as  forming  the  tubercle  itself,  but  as 
constituting  the  poison  from  which  tubercular  disease 
takes  its  origin. 

The  deduction  which  he  makes  from  this,  naturally 
enough,  to  the  effect  that  the  greatest  care  should  be 
taken  to  secure  an  ample  supply  of  fresh  air,  especially 
in  cases  where  numbers  of  persons  are  obliged,  by  cold 
weather  or  other  causes,  to  occupy  a  limited  space 
together,  and  in  which  adequate  provision  has  not  been 
made  for  a  constant  supply  of  fresh  air.  In  view  of  this, 


—  15!)  — 

the  predominance  of  tubercular  disease  in  DOthern  lati- 
tudes is  to  be  regarded  as  due,  not  to  b  tendency  in  the 
climate  itself  to  produce  such  ;i  condition,  but,  rather, 
to  the  greater  liability  of  huddling  together  for  purpo- 
ses of  warmth — although  it  is  probable  thai  a  diseased 
condition  or  irritation  of  the  lungs,  in  such  oases,  may 
increase  the  mortification  of  the  poisonous  material. 
MacCormac's  investigations  satisfied  him  that  where,  in 

consequence  of  the  mildness  of  the  climate,  persons 
are  induced  to  live  a  great  deal  out  of  doors,  or  where 
the  houses  are  not  closed  up  to  such  a  degree  as 
to  exclude  the  external  air,  or  prevent  its  free  passage, 
this  disease  becomes  comparatively  unknown  ;  he,  in- 
deed, encourages  open  windows  and  drafts  of  air,  es- 
pecially at  night,  if  the  body  is  well  covered. 

Substantially  similar  is  the  view  taken  of  this  subject 
by  M.  Kiofrev,  of  Paris,  considered  in  its  climatic  re- 
lations. Knowing  that  post-mortem  examinations  have 
so  frequently  shown  that  nature,  under  certain  circum- 
stances, cures  the  disease,  the  importance  of  inquiring 
carefully  into  the  nature  of  these  circumstances  sug- 
gested itself  to  M.  Kiofrey  as  paramount. 

Pursuing  this  investigation  over  an  extensive  field — 
comprising,  in  fact.  France,  Holland  and  Great  Britain 
— the  results  convinced  him  that  a  cure  was  effected 
whenever  thin  and  attenuated  men  changed  their  cli- 
mate and  habits,  one  or  both,  and  in  consequence  de- 
veloped a  tendency  to  become  fleshy;  he  considers  a 
high  northern  and  southern  latitude  as  alike  favorable — 
deeming  all  the  temperate  latitudes  to  be  undesirable — 
and  names  our  American  coasts,  say  from  latitude  fifty- 
five  degrees  north  to  seventeen  degrees  smith,  as  con- 


—  160  — 

sumptive  latitudes.  Concerning  this,  it  is  to  be  noted 
that  latitude  seventeen  degrees  south  is  precisely  the 
point  where  the  trade  winds,  relieved  from  their  moist- 
ure by  the  Andes,  produce  a  dry  air.  Natchez,  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  is  found  to  be  a  favorable  point  for 
consumptives,  yet  the  place  has  a  very  humid  climate, 
and  the  nights  are  exceedingly  damp,  the  wind  blowing 
up  the  river,  and  bringing  the  dampness  from  the  gulf. 
Another  fact  may  be  cited  as  of  general  bearing  in  this 
connection,  namely  :  The  coasts  of  Patagonia  are  lib- 
erally submerged  with  rain,  and  the  natives  are  repre- 
sented as  physically  a  most  miserable  race. 

But,  that  a  change  of  climate  is  really  beneficial  to 
persons  suffering  with  this  disease,  is  questioned  by 
many  eminent  physicians  at  the  present  day — -that,  in 
fact,  climate  has  little  or  nothing  to  do  with  its  cure, 
and  that  if  it  had,  the  curative  effects  would  be  pro- 
duced not  through  the  lungs,  but  the  skin.  That  a 
warm  climate,  too,  is  not  in  itself  beneficial,  would  ap- 
pear from  the  fact  that  the  disease  exists  in  all  latitudes, 
with  greater  or  less  frequency,  and  among  all  classes 
and  conditions. 

Thus,  in  India  and  Africa,  tropical  climates,  Con- 
sumption is  found  to  be  as  frequent  as  in  Europe  and 
North  America;,  at  Malta,  right  in  the  heart  of  the 
genial  Mediterranean,  the  army  reports  of  England 
show  that  one-third  of  the  deaths  among  the  soldiers 
are  by  consumption  ;  at  Nice,  well  known  as  a  favorite 
resort  of  invalids,  especially  those  afflicted  with  lung 
complaints,  there  are  said  to  be  actually  more  native 
born  persons  who  die  of  consumption  than  in  any 
English  town  of  equal  population ;  in  Geneva  the  dis- 


—  161  — 

ease  has  about  the  same  prevalence ;  in  Florence,  pneu- 
monia is  said  to  be  marked  by  a  Buffocating  character, 
and  by  a  rapid  progress  towards  its  lasl  Btage.  Naples, 
also,  whose  climate  is  the  theme  of  so  much  ] » «-.i i -» •  by 
travelers,  shows  in  her  hospitals  n  mortality  by  con- 
sumption equal  to  one  in  two  and  one-third,  whereas 
Paris,  whose  climate  is  sooften  called  deleterious,  Bhowe 
a  proportion  of  bul  one  in  three  and  one-quarter.  In 
Madeira,  too,  strange  to  say,  no  local  disease  is  more 
common  than  consumption. 

One  of  the  most  plausible  points  made  by  the  advo- 
cates of  this  theory  is,  that,  as  the  beasts,  birds  and 
fishes  of  one  region  usually  die  in  another,  a  change  of 
climate  cannot,  therefore,  unless  exceptionally,  be 
beneficial  to  an  invalid — that,  notwithstanding  the 
greater  adaptability  to  climate  which  man  preserves, 
the  human  constitution  is  not  to  be  assumed  capable  of 
enduring  absolute  changes  of  temperature  without  being 
more  or  less  affected  by  it,  a  change  of  this  kind  gen- 
erally tending,  indeed,  to  undermine  the  health.  The 
African'-  sturdy  health  fails  him  in  the  cold  of  a  Cana- 
dian climate;  both  visitors  and  uativesdieof  consump- 
tion in  Madeira,  and  the  constitution  of  European  res- 
idents in  India  often,  as  is  well  known,  becomes  hope- 
lessly    -haltered. 

The  investigation  of  this  subject  by  Dr.  Burgess,  of 
Scotland,  appears  to  have  established,  substantially, 
the  above  points,  and  in  the  valuable  paper  embodying 
the  results  of  his  inquiries  in  this  field,  he  also  combats 
the  idea  so  commonly  held,  particularly  by  unprofes- 
sional persons,  that  consumptive  patients,  by  breathing 
a  mild  atmosphere,  withdraw  irritation  and  leave  nature 


—  162  — 

free  to  work  a  cure.  Instead  of  this  being  the  case, 
Dr.  Burgess  contends  that  it  is  through  the  skin,  not 
through  the  lungs,  that  a  warm  climate  acts  beneficially. 
When  a  sudden  change  in  the  temperature  produces  a 
chill,  cutaneous  perspiration  is  checked,  the  skin 
becomes  dry  and  hard,  and  the  lungs  suffer  from  exces- 
sive action — being  now  compelled  to  eliminate  what 
should  have  passed  off  through  the  skin — an  illustra- 
tion of  this  being  presented  in  the  instantaneous  relief 
which  is  generally  obtained  through  free  perspiration, 
where  difficult  breathing,  or  oppression  of  the  chest, 
has  been  occasioned  by  artificial  heat.  What  is  best 
for  consumptive  patients,  therefore,  would  appear  to 
be  an  equable  climate — the  fluctuations,  not  the  high 
temperature  of  a  climate,  being  the  source  of  injury 
to  be  guarded  against.  The  late  Prof.  Joseph  Henry 
was  an  advocate  of  this  latter  view — that  is,  he  attrib- 
uted the  deleterious  effects  in  consumption  rather  to 
the  amount  of  change  in  the  thermometer  at  given 
points  than  to  the  actual  state  of  temperature.  To 
the  intemperate  changeable  climate  of  the  New  England 
States,  the  tendency  of  which  is  to  produce  disease  in 
the  pulmonary  organs,  is  attributed  the  prevalence  of 
consumption  characterizing  that  region  ;  the  only  season 
of  the  year  regarded  as  favorable  to  those  troubled 
with  lung  diseases,  in  that  section,  being  the  month  of 
September  and  the  first  part  of  October. 

One  of  the  most  interesting,  as  well  as  valuable, 
contributions  to  this  discussion  is  the  address  by  Dr. 
Schreiber,  in  which  he  takes  the  position  that  moisture 
and  temperature  and  barometric  pressure  are,  for  con- 
sumption and  some  other  diseases,  not  the  important 
factors  to  be  considered  by  medical  men  in  locating 


—  163  — 

sanitarium,  bill  that,  <>u  the  contrary,  these  are  but 
incidental  to  the  more  importanl  question,  whether  the 
air  of  the  locality  is  free  from  injurious  organic  dusl 
and  germs.  He  says  the  term  climate,  which  is  so 
much  used,  must  be  understood  as  meaning,  above  all, 
air  which  is  pure,  containing  no  miasma,  do  organic  or 
inorganic  mixture,  in  which,  therefore,  rain  <>r  boow 
occurs  frequently  enough  to  continually  keep  il  washed 
and  pure,  ilif  benefit  <>i"  such  a  Locality  and  air  for  con- 
sumptives being,  of  course,  unquestionable. 


IS  MEDICINE  A  SCIENCE  ? 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Globe-Democrat: 

St.  Louis,  March  27,  1880. — It  is  but  natural  that 
the  human  mind  in  all  ages,  and  especially  as  it  rises 
in  the  scale  of  intelligence,  should  desire  to  understand 
the  true  nature  of  disease.  This  subject  has  puzzled 
the  brains  of  the  best  thinkers  in  the  medical  schools 
from  the  days  of  Hippocrates  and  Galen  to  the  pres- 
ent time.  And  remarkable  as  the  fact  may  seem,  the 
problem  through  these  many  centuries  has  remained 
practically  unsolved.  Neither  the  profound  study  nor 
the  minute  observation  of  any  or  all  of  the  learned 
JEsculapians,  be  he  "regular"  or  "  irregular "  (for 
then,  as  now,  the  schools  were  orthodox  and  hetero- 
dox), from  that  distant  period  down  to  the  present 
century,  has  been  able  to  fathom  the  mystery.  Dis- 
ease was  something  to  be  dreaded,  but  not  to  be 
understood.  Frequent  attempts  were  made  to  locate 
it  in  the  system,  but  always  without  success  ;  whether 
it  resided  in  the  solids  of  the  body,  or  in  its  fluids, 
was  wholly  matter  of  conjecture. 

Have  the  brilliant  discoveries  of  modern  times  cast 
a  glimmer  of  light  on  this  subject?  Surely,  in  this 
the  nineteenth  century,  when  science  and  art  vie  with 
each  other  for  the  mastery,  when  steam  and  electricity 
are  working  wonders    to-day,   which  grow  common- 


—  165  — 

place  to-morrow;  Burely,  in  lliis  age  of  discovery  :i n«  1 
research,  we  have  a  righl  to  expect  an  answer  to  the 
old,  <»I<1  question,  "  Whal  is  disease?"  Shall  w 
it?  Pn.f.  George  B.  Wood,  M.  D„  of  Jefferson 
Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  says :  '*  Efforts  have 
been  made  t(»  reach  the  elements  of  disease,  but  Dot 
very  successfully,  because  we  have  not  yet  learned  the 
essential  nature  of  the  healthy  actions,  and  can  nol 
understand  their  derangements."  Prof.  Samuel  1). 
Gross,  M.  D.,  a  medical  writer  well  known  both  in 
this  country  and  in  Europe,  states  briefly  but  distinctly 
that,  "Of  the  essenceof  disease  very  little  is  known; 
indeed,  nothing  at  all."  Dr.  Thatcher,  author  of  the 
American  New  Dispensatory,  says  (of  fever):  "Its 
essential  nature,  or  the  approximate  cause  of  its  symp- 
toms, is  still  a  problem  in  medical  science,  both  on 
the  nature  of  disease  and  the  action  of  medicines." 
Other  authorities  might  be  cited,  but  it  is  needless  ; 
they  all  lead  to  the  following   significant  conclusions  : 

1.  That  the  real  nature  of  disease  is  not  known. 

2.  That  the  healthy  actions  of  the  body  are  not  well 
understood. 

3.  That  the  modus  operandi  of  medicines  (that  i-. 
the  real  nature  of  their  actions)  is  entirely   unknown. 

4.  That  diseases,  if  cured  at  all,  are  not  cured  by 
drug  medicines,  but  by  a  power  within  the  system 
itself,  technically  termed  the  vis-medicatrix  natures. 

5.  That  drug  poisons,  instead  of  curing  diseases, 
simply  cause  them  to  disappear  (though  even  this 
does    not    always   happen),    and,   in  so  doing,  produce 


__166  — 

other  and  more  dangerous  maladies.     In  other  words, 
acute  diseases  are  converted  into  chronic. 

Certainly,  the  above  "  conclusions  "  do  not  afford  a 
very  encouraging  outlook  as  respects  medical  science, 
so  called.  If  this  is  the  "progress"  reached  after 
these  centuries,  may  we  not  justly  conclude  that,  after 
all,  the  shadows  of  the  dark  ages  still  hang  heavily 
about  us  ? 

"Medicine,"  it  is  said  by  some,  "is  a  science  as 
exact  as  mathematics,  based  upon  facts  which  can  not 
be  disputed."  Suppose,  then,  we  look  into  some  of 
the  "  facts."  Before  doing  so,  however,  let  us  hear 
what  is  said  about  them  by  some  very  high  authorities. 
Prof.  Gregory,  of  Edinburgh,  author  of  "  Theory 
and  Practice  of  Physic,"  says:  "  Gentlemen,  99  out 
of  every  100  medical  facts  are  medical  lies  ;  and  med- 
ical doctines  are,  for  the  most  part,  stark,  staring 
nonsense."  What  are  we  to  conclude  from  statements 
such  as  this?  Did  Prof.  Gregory  not  understand  what 
he  was  saying,  or  did  he  utter  the  words  without  duly 
weighing  their  import  ?  Suppose  we  take  the  pains  to 
ascertain  whether  any  of  his  confreres  agree  with  him 
on  this  very  important  subject.  Dr.  Eamage,  Fellow 
of  the  Royal  College,  London,  declares  that  "  It  can 
not  be  denied  that  the  present  system  of  medicine  is  a 
burning  shame  to  its  professors,  if,  indeed,  a  series  of 
vague  and  uncertain  incongruities  deserves  to  be  called 
by  that  name."  And  Prof.  Jamieson,  of  Edinburgh, 
regards  "  The  present  practice  of  medicine  "  as  a 
"  reproach  to  the  name  of  science,  while  its  professors 
give  evidence  of  an  almost  total  ignorance  of  the 
nature  and  proper  treatment  of  disease." 


—  KIT  — 

Turning  from  the  above  excellent  authorities,  lei  n~ 
take  a  single  quotation  from  that  able  and  orthodox 
organ,  the  Dublin  Medical  Journal.  It  says,  ••  Assur- 
edly, the  uncertain  and  most  unsatisfactory  art  that 
we  call  medical  science  is  n<>  Bcience  at  all,  but  a  jum- 
ble  <>f  inconsistent    opinions;    of  c slusions    hastily 

and  often  incorrectly  drawn ;  of  facts  misunderstood  or 
perverted;  of  comparisons  without  nnalogy;  of  hy- 
potheses without  reason,  and  theories  not  onl\  useless, 
l>ut  dangerous." 

If  these  arc  the  opinions  of  men  that  stand  high  in 
the  medical  profession,  what  are  we  to  think  of  the 
profession  itself?  If  the  "shining  lights"  in  the 
"science  *'  of  medicine  have  so  little  confidence  in  it, 
how  can  they,  how  dare  they,  commend  it  to  the  con- 
fidence of  the  people?  A  science  which  is  "  no  sci- 
ence at  all;"  whose  practice  is  a  "  reproach  to  the 
name  of  science;'*  whose  "  remedies  "  have  killed 
more  than  war,  pestilence  and  famine  combined;" 
remedies  that  "cure"  by  "  poisoning  the  blood;"  by 
"  diminishing  the  patient's  vitality  :  "  by  "  producing 
other  diseases  !  "     Verily,  the  blind  lead  the  blind. 

But  we  were  speaking  of  "  facts  "  not  of  opinions  ; 
not  of  mere  assertions,  but  veritable  (andwewill  sup- 
pose) "demonstrable'"  facts:  something  that  ad- 
dresses itself  to  the  senses.  Very  well,  they  shall  be 
forthcoming.  We  must  step  warily,  however,  for  the 
paths  we  tread  are  dark  and  mysterious.  Medicine,  it 
Would  seem,  either  as  a  science  or  a  remedy,  is  pecu- 
liar and  obscure.  Prof.  J.  P.  Harrison,  an  allopathic 
teacher  and  writer,  says :  "  We  do  not  reason  on  med- 
icine as  we    do  on    other  subjects.'*      And    in  speaking 


— 168  — 

of  mercury  he  makes  the  following  statement :  "  That 
it  cures  we  know,  but  how  it  cures  we  know  not." 
Possibly  his  patients,  were  they  consulted,  would 
reverse  the  statement,  somewhat  as  follows:  "That 
it  cures  we  have  reason  to  doubt ;  but  how  it  cures  is 
sufficiently  obvious,"  as  the  following  quotations  from 
the  self-same  author  ought  to  show : 

"  It  ( mercury  V  produces  rapid  sinking  of  the  vital 
powers,"  has  "  very  injurious  effects  upon  the  mouths 
of  children  —  severe  inflammation,  sloughing  and 
death ;  "  causes  "  palsy,  ulceration  and  disease  of  the 
bones  ;  "  it  "  irritates  the  heart  and  arteries,  and  inva- 
riably depresses  the  nerves  ;  "  it  is  a  "  most  powerful 
subduer  of  the  energies  of  life."  "  It  brings  on  a 
most  afflicting  and  incorrigible  constitutional  disease, 
which  often  defies  the  skill  of  the  most  experienced 
and  enlightened  physician  to  cure."  "  Sloughing  of 
the  cheeks  has  risen  from  washes  and  ointments  "  (of 
it)  "  applied  to  the  head  and  other  parts  of  the  body." 
"  Disastrous  effects  have  sprung  from  these  applica- 
tions." It  "  inflicts  incalculable  evils  on  the  patient ;" 
"  produces  cancrum  oris,  "  (dry  salivation,  or  canker 
of  the  mouth),  the  "  most  revolting  mutilation  of  the 
face,  foul  ulcers  on  tongue,  cheeks  and  fauces,"  "  eats 
off  the  nose  and  the  bony  palate  of  the  mouth,"  and 
"demolishes  the  very  pillars  of  human  health." 
Could  devastation  be  more  complete?  These  are 
"facts"  for  those  who  want  them.  If  theory  is 
called  for,  the  writer  has  supplied  it,  in  these  words  : 
"When  Ave  produce  a  mercurial  impression  to  cure 
fever,  we  substitute  the  action  of  the  remedy  for  that 
of  the  disease."  Which,  gentle  reader,  do  you  pre- 
fer?    Perhaps  it  would  be  interesting  to  know  that  the 


—  169  — 

use  of  this  terribly  devastating  drug  was  tii-i  intro- 
duced into  practice  by  thai  prince  of  humbugs,  A.ure- 
olus  Phillippus  Paracelsus  Theophrastus  Bombast  de 
Hohenheim,  as  he  styles   himself.     This   unprincipled 

charlatan,  who  flourished  aboul  •'>;")<>  years  ago,  burned 
t  be  works  of  Galen  and  Avicenna,  declaring  thai  he 
had  "  found  thr  philosopher's  stone,  and  thai  mankind 
had  no  further  use   for  the  medical  works  of  others." 

In  another  article  I  shall  endeavor  to  show  that  the 
dreadful  effects  of  the  "art  killative"  are  not  con- 
fined to  one  particular  drug,  nor  to  the  "remedies  " 
of  a  single  school.  Ex-Student. 


Medicine  Not  a  Science. 


The  question  "Is  Medicine  a  Science?"  stands  at 
the  head  of  three  separate  commnications,  two  in  the 
Globe-Democrat  and  one  in  the  "Only  Evening  Paper" 
of  this  city,  and  as  yet  no  replies  to  either.  In  order 
to  answer  the  question  properly  and  understandingly, 
we  must  look  up  the  best  authorities  (Webster,  Wor- 
cester and  others,)  and  see  how  they  define  the  word 
"Science."  Each  and  all  of  them  say  "Science  is 
knowledge — a  knowledge  of  law,  principles  and  rela- 
tion. The,  comprehension  or  understanding  of  truth 
or  facts.  Truth  ascertained  beyond  a  doubt.  Philo- 
sophical knowledge.  Profound  knowledge.  Complete 
and  true  knowledge.  Science  is  applied  or  pure. 
Applied  Science  is  a  knowledge  of  facts,  events,  as 
explained,  accounted  for  or  produced  by  means  of 
power,  causes  or  laws.  Pure  Science  is  the  knowledge 
of  these  powers,  causes  or  laws,  considered  apart,  or 
as  pure,  from  all  applications." 

To  sum  up  we  find  that  Science,  literally,  is  knowl- 
edge. Nothing  more ;  nothing  less.  I  take  it  for 
granted  that  all  of  my  readers  understand  from  the 
above  quoted  authorities  exactly  what  is  meant  by  the 
word  Science.  Let  us  now  apply  it  to  Medicine  or 
Physic,  as  it  is  now  practiced  by  the  profession  (allo- 
pathic, )  and  see  how  harmoniously  they  work  together. 


—  171  — 

Medicine  pusses  eiirreni  as  a  scienoe,  and  in  popular 
acceptance  is  identical  with  physic,  fa,  then,  Physic 
a  science?  So,  indeed,  physicians  would  have  the 
the  world  believe,  bul  lei  us  lilt  the  veil,  and  look  at 
things  as  they  really  exist . 

" Anatomy ,"  says  Richerland,  "is  the  science  of  or- 
ganization. K  deals  with  the  apparatus,  the  instru- 
ments in  that  laboratory  in  which  the  chemistry  of 
life   is   carried   on."      Hence   the   peculiar   province 

of  Anatomy  is  the  examination,  by  dissection,  of  the 
organs  of  animal  life.  "Strictly  speaking,  structure 
alone  is  learned  by  dissection.  The  vita]  properties  of 
organic  textures,  and  the  functions  of  organs  are  found 
out  by  observation."  Anatomy,  therefore,  has  a  solid 
foundation,  and  is  truly  a  science  of  facts  Conse- 
quently it  is  the  only  basis  on  which  sound  medical 
knowledge  can  rest. 

Surgwy,  in  the  narrow  barbaric  sense  that  prevailed 
in  ages  of  ignorance,  means  hand-work,  and  implies 
the  employment  of  instruments,  and  the  use  of  topical 
remedies  merely,  in  the  treatment  of  disease.  Such 
was  the  ignoble  sphere  assigned  to  Surgery  during  the 
dark  ages  of  semi-civilization,  extending  even  to  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

[ts  proper  sphere  will  be  noticed  in  due  course;  at 
present  it  is  sufficient  to  observe  that,  while  it  is  based 
On  a  thorough  knowledge  of  Anatomy,  general  and 
morbid,  it  also  draws  inspiration  from  whatever  tends 
to  throw  light  on  the  varied  and  complicated  functions 
of  vitality.  It  was  by  thus  estimating  aright  the  true 
province  of  Surgery,  that  the  illustrious  John  Hunter 


—  172  — 

succeeded    in    raising   it    "above   the    servility    of   a 
mechanical  art  to  a  science  of  the  highest  order." 

Physiology  is  the  science  of  normal  or  healthy  life, 
and  has  an  intimate  alliance  with,  or  rather  a  necessary 
dependence  on,  Anatomy,  inasmuch  as  it  deals  with 
the  whole  phenomena  of  our  organization  in  its  natural 
state,  and  with  the  laws  or  principles  in  accordance 
with  which  they  are  manifested,  and  by  which  all  the 
functions  of  structure  are  governed. 

Physiology,  consequently,  has  no  practical  value 
outside  the  domain  of  fact.  It  has  nothing  to  do  with 
speculative  fancies,  and  it  never  can  err  while  it  keeps 
within  the  sphere  of  legitimate  induction  from  the 
incontestible  phenomena  of  nature. 

Pathology  is  exactly  the  reverse  of  Physiology.  It 
embraces  the  phenomena  of  abnormal  or  diseased  con- 
ditions, and,  therefore,  is  largely  dependent  on  morbid 
anatomy.  Still,  in  diagnoses,  or  in  the  art  of  discern- 
ing the  distinctions  of  disease,  can  only  be  acquired  as 
the  result  of  observation,  based  on  a  profound  knowl- 
edge of  Pathology  ;  and  the  reason  why  so  many  fatal 
mistakes  are  constantly  occurring  in  practice — mis- 
judging effects  for  causes  and  treating  symptoms  only, 
instead  of  comprehending  the  true  source  of  abnormal 
changes,  is,  that  a  lamentable  ignorance  of  Pathology 
is  a  characteristic  of  medical  practitioners  generally. 

Hygiene,  or  the  art  of  preserving  health,  it  will  thus 
be  seen,  is  necessarily  based  on  a  correct  knowledge  of 
Physiology.  A  knowledge  of  the  laws  by  which  nor- 
mal or  healthy  life  is  governed,  necessarily  makes  us 
acquainted  with  the  conditions  essential  to  its  mainten- 


—  it;}  — 

race,  while  we  arc  also  1  *  * « I  to  compreheiid  how  the 
violations  of  the  conditions  cause  a  disturbance  of  nat- 

ural  action  which,  when  manifested  in  whatever  form, 
or  with  greater  or  lesser  intensity,  constitutes  what  is 
eoninionly  termed  disease.  Hygiene,  therefore,  rightly 
understood  in  a  truly  comprehensive  sense,  includes 
mind  and  body, and  thus,  in  reality,  embraces  Biology, 
or  the  Science  of  Life. 

Therapeutics  is  opposed  to  Hygiene,  in  bo  far  as  it 
contemplates  the  derangement  of  natural  health.  Its 
perfection  consists  in  properly  treating  abnormal  con- 
ditions, in  checking  the  aberrations  of  disordered  (uwr- 
tions,  and  in  contributing  towards  the  restoration  of 
natural  action.  Its  chief  duty,  consequently,  is  to  aid 
the  vis  medicatrix  natures,  or  the  principle  of  self- 
preservation  with  which  Providence  has  beneficially 
endowed  all  organized  creation.  The  Healing  Art,  as 
it  i-  called,  i-,  therefore,  only  another  name  for  Thera- 
peutics, hut,  correctly  speaking,  "art"  never  yet 
healed  or  (aired  any  disease,  while  the  supposition, 
absurd  and  unscientific,  that  "  art  "  does  heal  or  cure, 
has  been,  and  still  continues  to  he,  a  most  fruitful 
source  of  error  and  suffering.  All  mere  "art"  can 
do,  at  best,  though  sustained  by  the  most  profound 
medical  knowledge,  is  to  remove  foreign  elements  that 
interfere  with  normal  action,  and  supply  natural  aids 
that  may  he  wanting,  and  thus  assist  to  re-establish 
those  conditions  which  sound  physiology  teaches  are 
essential  to  health — the  vis  medicatrix  naturm,  the  pre- 
servative principle  of  animal  life,  alone  heals  and  cures. 
Hence,  a  rational  system  of  Therapeutics  can  never  he 
based  on  what  is,  in  any  degree,  speculative,  bul  must 
necessarily  rest   on   a  knowledge  of  facts  obtained  by 


—  174  — 

the  study  of  Physiology,  and  accurate  observation  of 
the  varied  phenomena  of  nature  as  manifested  in  health 
and  disease.  Just  as  the  most  profound  knowledge  of 
Anatomy,  through  the  basis  of  Surgery,  never  yet,  of 
itself,  made  a  skilful  and  accomplished  surgeon,  so  an 
equally  profound  knowledge  of  Pathology,  or  of  dis- 
eased conditions,  never  yet  made,  of  itself,  a  skilful 
therapeutist.  The  essential  condition  is,  that  all  theory 
must  be  discarded,  and  pathological  knowledge  applied 
in  strict  consistency  with  physiological  truth.  This 
strikes  at  the  very  root  of  all  systems  of  mere  physic 
which  have  tortured  humanity,  because  all  have  been 
based  on  speculative  and  unstable  theory — not  on  the 
facts  of  nature.  Hence,  a  physician  maybe,  and  often 
is,  a  very  learned  pathologist,  very  skilful  in  diagnoses, 
and  yet,  as  a  practitioner,  nothing  more  than  the  ser- 
vile follower  of  some  empirical  mode  of  treatment — 
the  dupe  himself,  and  unconsciously  often  so,  of  false 
doctrines,  erroneous  teaching,  and  imperfect  mental 
training.  , 

This  makes  up  the  sum  total  of  all  that  can  be  deemed 
absolutely  scientific  and  certain  in  medicine,  and  it  will 
be  observed  that  all  this  knowledge  is  essentially 
knowledge  of  facts  derived  from  diligent  observation 
and  study  of  nature,  consequently,  has  no  relation 
whatever  with  anything  that  is  merely  theoretical, 
speculative  or  problematical.  Thus  considered,  what 
then  becomes  of  the  popular  idea  concerning  medicine 
and  the  medical  profession?  Where  is  the  place  for 
the  mere  physician  to  occupy  who  deals  in  drugs? 
What  scientific,  natural  and  rational  basis  has  he  to 
rest  on  as  a  practitioner? 


—175  — 

Eliminate  anatomy,  physiology  and  pathology  from 
what — among  the  ill-informed  and  unreflective  of  all 

classes-— passes  for  "medical  Bcience,"  and  I istly 

consider  what  remains  behind.  What,  indeed,  but  tin* 
apothecary  under  the  designation  of  a  *' physician," 
with  his  pestle  and  mortar,  Btill  and  crucible,  for  the 
preparation  of  pernicious  compounds,  unnatural  and 
poisonous  concoctions,  recommended,  unchallenged 
and  unexplained,  by  crude  theories  and  speculative 
fallacies  unworthy  of  this  scientific  age,  and  all  at  eter- 
nal enmity  with  human  health,  happiness  and  life  ! 

Bearing    in    mind,    then,    the    essential     distinction 

between  medicine  as  a  science  and  physic  ;i>  an  art,  it 
will  be  understood  at  once  that  it  was  not  the  former, 
a-  based  on  the  demonstrative  facts  of  Anatomy,  Physi- 
ology, and  Pathology,  that  the  eminent  Sir  Astley 
Cooper  contemplated  when  he  deliberately  said  :  "The 
science  of  medicine  is  founded  on  conjecture  and  im- 
proved by  murder."'  It  was  clearly  physic,  or  drug 
medication  that  he  referred  to. 

It  was  also  of  medicine,  as  identified  with  the  perni- 
cious art  of  drugging,  that  the  celebrated  Magendie 
spoke,  when  addressing  his  students.  He  said:  "Gen- 
tlemen, medicine  is  a  great  humbug.  I  know  it  is 
called  science.  Science,  indeed  !  It  is  nothing  like 
science.  Doctors  are  merely  empirics,  when  they  are 
not  charlatan-  !" 

In  the  same  spirit  of  candor  the  J)nh//'i>  Medical 
Journal  said:  "Assuredly  the  uncertain  and  most 
unsatisfactory  art  that  we  call  medical  science  is  no 
science  at  all,   but  a  jumble   of    inconsistent    opinion-  ; 


—  176  — 

of  conclusions  hastily,  and  often  inaccurately  drawn ; 
of  facts  misunderstood  or  perverted ;  of  comparisons 
without  analogy ;  of  hypotheses  without  reason,  and 
theories  not  only  useless,  but  dangerous." 

In  even  more  emphatic  terms  an  esteemed  author,  Dr. 
Mason  Good,  wrote  :  "The  science  of  medicine  is  a 
barbarous  jargon,  and  the  effects  of  our  medicines  on 
the  human  system  in  the  highest  degree  uncertain, 
except,  indeed,  that  they  have  destroyed  more  lives 
than  war,  pestilence  and  famine  combined." 

There  can  be  nothing  uncertain  in  science,  and  hence 
the  Medical  Times  admitted  that  "  a  scientific  as  dis- 
tinguished from  an  empirical  treatment  of  disease  (by 
drugs)  is  an  idle  dream."  And  the  reason  of  this  may 
be  gathered  from  the  clever  author,  Dr.  Ridge,  who 
frankly  says:  "  That  medicines,  administered  with  the 
best  intentions,  and  according  to  all  rules  of  art  by  the 
profession  itself,  as  well  as  by  all  classes  on  their  own 
responsibility,  aggravate  the  disease,  and  suffering  is 
too  clear  to  need  any  illustration."  Even  the  Lancet 
has  had  its  faith  shaken  in  "  Physic  as  a  Science." 

The  progress  of  true  medical  science  has  greatly 
qualified  our  estimate  of  the  value  of  mere  drugs 
in  the  treatment  of  disease.  It  has  shown  that  in 
medicine,  as  in  politics,  the  best  course  is  that  of  non- 
intervention. 

The  conclusion  is,  therefore,  irresistible — that  Anat- 
omy, Physiology  and  Pathology,  as  based  on  demon- 
strative facts,  can  alone  be  regarded  as  composing 
medical  science.  Hence,  an  eminent  authority,  Sir 
Richard  Owen,  Professor  of   Anatomy  to  the  Ro}ral 


—  177  — 

College  of  Surgeons,  Loudon,  in  addressing  the  stu- 
dents of  St.  Mary's  Hospital,  Paddington,  nt  the 
distribution  <>f  prizes  in  L865,  Baid  :  "Anatonrj  ,  l'li\  Bi- 
ology and  Pathology,  all  three  bodies  of  doctrine 
worthy  of  the  name  <>f  Bciences,  must  be  cultivated 
if  possible,  mastered — as  the  indispensable  basis  <>n 
which  a  lasting  superstructure  of  a  true  science  of 
medicine  can  be  raised."  M.   I  >. 


AN  HONEST  CONFESSION. 


Dr.  J.  L.  W.  Thudichum,  Professor  of  Chemistry 
and  Surgery  in  Grosvenor  Place  Medical  College,  Lon- 
don, does  justice  to  the  "  Hot- Air  Bath  "  in  an  address 
before  the  "  London  Medical  Society,"  and  published 
in  their  transactions.  We  publish  a  part  of  it — all  we 
have  space  for — and  hope  it  will  be  read  by  our  Physi- 
sicians  and  the  public  without  prejudice  : 

Gentlemen  of  the  Society  : — We  find  ourselves 
unexpectedly  in  the  startling  position  of  having  a  most 
powerful,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  most  simple  agent 
for  the  preservation  of  health  and  restoration  of  well- 
being  offered  for  our  acceptance.  It  is  not  a  discovery 
of  science  which  we  have  before  us  ;  that  boast  of  our 
days  was  blind  to  the  uses  of  hot  air  as  a  means  of  com- 
fort and  health.  It  is  a  practice  handed  down  to  us 
from  the  early  days  of  mankind  ;  from  those  times  when 
little  was  said,  less  was  written,  but  all  is  done  that  is 
essential  to  the  well-being  of  man.  Science  has  not 
preserved  for  us  an  application  known  to  every  people 
on  the  globe  before  our  era  ;  nor  has  it  been  instru- 
mental in  teaching  the  West  that  practical  tradition 
which  that  natural  and  simple  people  of  the  East — the 
Turks — had  the  good  sense  and  justice  to  preserve  in- 
tact in  the  condition  in  which  they  received  it.  Scores 
of  travelers  have  given  elaborate  descriptions  of  this 


—  17!)  — 

institution  ;  numbers  of  Olir  own  body  now  l».i.i~i  of 
having  had  experience  of  the  Thermae  in  the  land  of  it- 
last  refuge.  Yet  to  none  of  them  is  it  as  mmh  as  a 
matter  of  Burprise,  much  less  of  shame,  not  to  have 
utilized  at  once  their  experience.  The  blind  did  not  see, 
the  svvd  fell  among  thorns.  The  simple  discovered, 
the  simple  preserved ;  one  single  man  taughl  the  West, 
and  in  the  West  it  was  again  the  simple  who  accepted 
the  gift.  How  different  was  the  bearing  of  the  educa- 
ted, the  scientific,  or  even  the  prominent  men  of  our 
own  society;  anterior  conclusions  sealed  their  under- 
standing, and  barred  their  courage,  even,  from  repeat- 
ing those  trials  which  the  experimental  mind  of  former 
centuries  has  left  for  their  guidance.  They  had  not 
the  candor  to  see  and  try  for  themselves,  and  judge 
according  to  the  evidence,  but  denounced  as  dangerous 
and  fatal  what  meets  every  simple  mind  as  safe,  agree- 
able and  soothing.  The  short  space  of  ten  years  has 
sufficed  to  exhibit  the  absurdity  of  these  unfounded 
denunciations. 

For  ten  years  the  medical  press,  particularly  that 
publicication  which  is  now  so  zealous  in  the  multiplica- 
tion of  letters  on  what  has,  in  spite  of  its  attempted  sup- 
pression, become  a  stirring  topic  in  the  world,  ignored 
an  application  upon  which  the  scribes  behind  the  scenes 
now  have  the  hardihood  to  claim  the  reservation  of  a 
final  judgment. 

In  the  presence  of  such  unprecedented  circumstance-, 
what  conduct  is  it  the  duty  of  the  true  followers  of 
science  to  adopt?  By  what  line  of  action  can  the  phv_ 
sician  reconcile  the  pari  of  his  art  to  his  present  duty 
to  his  art  and  to  mankind?  How  can  he  do  justice  to 
truth  ? 


—  180  — 

By  that  act  which  must  precede  every  reformation  ; 
by  a  candid  renunciation  of  all  errors  of  the  past — of 
all  anterior  knowledge  and  conclusions  ;  by  the  resolu- 
tion not  to  weave  the  new  knowledge  into  the  tissue  of 
his  former  errors,  theories  and  practice  ;  by  becoming 
a  child  in  science,  and  acquiring  new  powers  of  per- 
ception. If  we  are  to  wait  these  500  years  before 
we  know  anything  about  the  Bath,  if  we  are  to  learn 
in  our  life-time  the  value  and  the  nature  of  the  Thermse, 
the  event  will  be  announced  by  the  figure  of  a  man 
standing  up  by  himself;-  after  having  dropped  alike  the 
clouts  and  finery  of  preconceived  notions,  making 
renunciation,  making  confession,  and  starting  with 
freedom  on  the  new  career  of  experiment — the  Beacon 
of  the  human  frame-r-to  accomplish  the  opus  magnum 
of  Pathology. 

By  the  experimental  process,  obtaining  results  which 
are  themselves  instruments  available  to  every  hand,  so 
as  to  make  science  the  hand-maid  of  daily  practice,  I 
have  made  that  renunciation  in  full ;  and  if  I  claim  to 
be  honest  by  pointing  my  finger  in  the  direction 
of  error,  and  by  denouncing  false  principles  of  action 
and  modes  of  thinking,  I  am  no  less  inviting  you  to 
participate  in  the  benefits  of  such  an  act,  by  imposing 
it  upon  yourselves.  United  we  shall  meet  the  future, 
and  exhibit  to  the  world  such  an  imposing  spectacle  of 
seriousness  of  purpose  and  truthfulness  of  mind,  and 
a  harvest  of  success,  that  there  shall  not  be  the  like, 
at  least,  while  ten  generations  preserve  the  love  of  our 
memory 

The  discovery  that  was  lost  and  has  been  found  again, 
is  this,  in  the  fewest  possible  words,  the  application  of 


—  181  — 

bol  air  t<>  the  human  body.  It  i-  not  wet  air,  nor  damp 
air,  nor  vapory  air;  it   is  no!   vapory  in  any  shape  <>r 

form  whatever.     It  is  an  immorsi »l*  the  whole  body 

in  bol  common  air.  No  sooner  bad  I  ascertained  thai 
a  person  bad  returned  comforted  from  such  an  :i|>i»li«:i- 
t i< mi ,  than  I  determined  upon  experiment  and  study.  I 
derived  knowledge  <>f  new  truths  and  confirmation  of 
former  assertions.  I  saw  fallacies  exposed,  and  was 
startled  to  sadness.  I  saw  the  Bick  bealed  and  the 
suffering  comforted.  I  saw  a  new  cnjoymenl  added 
to  the  few  thai  life  possesses,  and  saw  it  within  the 
reach  of  all.  I  brought  away  a  heavy  load  of  private 
gain,  in  the  exchange  of  a  delicate  lung  and  a  sensitive 
skin,  for  health,  strength,  and  hopeful  existence.  As 
a  phvsician.  I  felt  placed  in  my  hands  the  most  power- 
fid  and  certain,  and  at  the  same  time,  the  mosl  agree- 
able therapeutic  agent  in  existence.  A  new  day  of  the 
art  of  healing  had  dawned  on  the  horizon,  which 
Hippocrates  claimed  as  an  honor  to  have  taught 
physicians  I  felt  they  were  now  being  taught  again  ; 
and  I  opened  my  ear  to  the  teachers  and  the  teachings. 
They  are  great  and  joyful,  and  their  truth  is  patent  to 
every  eye.  And  I  can  enjoy  them,  ami  perhaps,  mul- 
tiply them,  with  an  easy  conscience,  as  1  have  closed 
accounts  with  the  past,  and  have  a  clear  scope  of  mind 
for  future  experience. 


Turkish  Baths  vs.  Arkansas 
Hot  Springs. 


Much  has  been  written,  and  more  said,  in  regard  to 
the  invaluable  properties  of  the  Arkansas  Hot  Springs 
as  a  remedial  agent.  Invalids,  from  all  sections  of  the 
country,  flock  to  the  Hot  Springs  with  every  variety 
of  disease,  and  I  am  informed  by  the  resident  physi- 
cian that  all  are  more  or  less  benefited,  and  many  rad- 
ically cured,  where  all  other  known  means  had  failed. 
The  question  very  naturally  aries  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  are  willing  to  search  for  new  truths — what  brings 
about  these  wonderful  cures  ?  It  is  evident  to  all  who 
think  for  themselves,  that  it  is  not  the  mineral  pro- 
perties of  the  spring  water,  for  the  analysis  of  the 
water  shows  it  to  be  as  pure  as  distilled  water,  or 
nearly  so,  notwithstanding  they  have  the  arsenic,  sul- 
phur and  alum  springs  ;  consequently,  we  must  at  once 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  the  "diaphoresis," 
or  sweating,  caused  by  the  heat  of  the  water,  rather 
than  by  its  properties.  Of  course,  change  of  air, 
change  of  diet,  freedom  from  care  and  business  per- 
plexities have  much  to  do  with  the  cures,  yet  facts  go 
far  to  prove  that  the  sweating  process  is  the  great 
secret  of  the  cures.  The  largest  class  of  drugs  used 
by  the  profession   are  known  as  diaphoretics  or  sudo- 


—  183  — 

lifics,  and  are  used  more  generally  than  any  other 
medicines,  but  al  the  same  time  thej  are  the  mosl  un- 
certain in  their  operation,  and,  I  ina\  safely  add,  the 
mOBl  pernicious.  Now,  I  claim  (and  ni\  experience 
will  bear  me  out  in  whal  I  say)  thai  heat  stands  moun- 
tains high  above  any  and  all  diaphoretics  as  a  cure  in 
all  kinds  of  diseased  action,   for  precisely   the  same 

results  can  be  brought  about  With  heat  without  the 
injurious,  and  sometimes  fatal,  effects  of  diaphoretics. 
Now,  if  moist  heat  or  steam  is  capable  of  equalizing 
the  circulation,  removing  obstructions,  relieving  con- 
gestions, stimulating  the  circulation,  and  calling  into 
action  the  secreting  and  excreting  organs,  how  much 
better  is  the  application  of  the  pure  dry  heat  of  the 
"Turkish  Bath."  When  I  speak  of  the  "Turkish 
Bath"  I  do  not  include  those  so-called  Turkish  baths 
gotten  up  by  every  adventurer,  dubbing  themselves 
Professors,  Doctors,  or  what  not — not  knowing  the 
Hist  principles  of  Physiology,  or  the  laws  of  health. 
A  bath  with  intense  heat,  poor  ventilation,  is  no  Turk- 
ish Bath,  and  the  public  should  not  judge  the  Bath  by 
such  shams.  Dry  heat  can  be  endured  at  a  much 
higher  temper ature  than  moist  heat,  while  steam  or 
hot  water  can  only  be  endured  at  lit)  -  or  11;")  °at  the 
highest  :  the  hot  air  bath  can  be  taken  as  high  as  150  ° 
with  comfort,  and  many  take  it  much  higher.  I  have 
taken  one  in  New  York  at  250°  with  the  happiest  re- 
sults. Hot  air  favors  evaporation  ;  moist  heat  does 
not.  Dry  heat  favors  absorption  of  oxygen  ;  moist 
heat  prevents  it.  Dry  hot  air  invites  the  blood  to  the 
surface,  causing  profuse  perspiration  :  vapor  heat  con- 
denses upon  the  body  and  prevents  free  perspiration. 
A  person   with   ordinary   judgment    knows  this,  by  the 


—  184  — 

acceleration  of  the  heart's  action.  In  a  steam  bath, 
man j  really  think  they  are  sweating,  when  it  is  noth- 
ing but  the  condensed  vapor  pouring  off  of  them. 
The  Hot  Air  or  Turkish  Bath  of  our  city  commends 
itself  to  all,  especially  to  invalids.  I  hold  that  it  is, 
physiologically  speaking,  far  ahead  of  the  Arkansas 
Hot  Springs  as  a  remedial  agent,  in  any  and  all  dis- 
eases, for  the  reasons  above  stated.  Give  the  Turkish 
Bath  half  the  chance  you  do  the  Arkansas  Hot 
Springs — that  is,  by  attending  to  them  as  you  would 
do  when  you  go  to  the  Springs,  and  }^ou  will  find  that 
my  words  will  more  than  prove  true.  You  will  then 
save  a  hard  and  expensive  journey,  w'Al  retain  all 
your  home  comforts.  The  accommodations  of  the 
bath  in  our  own  city  are  far  superior  to  those  in  the 
wilds  of  Arkansas,  and  last,  but  not  least,  a  competent 
physician,  of  long  experience  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine, gives  his  entire  time  and  advice  to  his  patrons, 
and  his  accomplished  wife  her  time,  during  the  ladies' 
hours,  free  of  charge.  We  hope,  with  Dr.  Adams, 
soon  to  see  a  Turkish  Bath  introduced  into  our  city 
hospital  and  insane  asylum.  Who  will  be  the  happy 
man  (physician  or  layman)  that  will  immortalize  his 
name  bv  being  instrumental  in  brino-jno-  about  a  con- 
summation  so  devoutly  to  be  wished  ? 

A  Fkiend  or  the  Bath. 


The  Difference  Between  Steam   Heat 
and  Fire  Heat. 


Mr.  Rohrer,  of  this  city,  who  beside  being  engaged 

in  other  enterprises,  is  a  manufacturer  of  acid  phos- 
phate of  lime,  in  which  last  undertaking  he  has  hero- 
ically battled  with  the  whims  of  chemical  affinities  till 
he  can  show  about  $10,0<)o  on  the  wrong  side  of  the 
ledger.  In  the  course  of  attaining  to  this  loss  and  a 
corresponding  advance  toward  perfection  in  the  pro- 
cess, Mr.  Rohrer  has  discovered  some  peculiar  facts, 
chief  among  which  is  that  there  is  a  chemical  differ- 
ence between  steam  heat  and  tire  heat  at  the  same 
temperature.  The  original  ingredients — bone  ash, 
starch  and  acid — are  mixed  together.  It  is  then  de- 
sirable to  thoroughly  dry  this  mixture,  which  goes  into 
the  drying  room  in  small  chunks  preparatory  to  being 
ground  to  Hour  in  the  mills.  With  steam  heat  the 
pieces  become  coated  with  a  glutinous  substance  that 
effectually  closes  the  pores  against  the  exit  of  internal 
moisture  ;  hence  the  mixture  can  not  be  ground  except 
with  great  difficulty  and  loss.  With  tire  heat — heat 
given  off  directly  from  a  furnace — these  difficull ies 
are  not  encountered.  It  might  be  suggested  tied  there 
were  leaks  in  the  steam  pipes,  liberating  steam  and 
moistening  the  ;it  ino-phere.  The  starch  in  the  mixture 
having  a  great  affinity  for  moisture  would  thus  natur- 


—  186  — 

ally  form  a  glutinous  coating  on  the  lumps.  But  there 
were  no  leaks,  and  to  all  human  observation  the  air 
was  perfectly  dry,  without  the  slightest  humidity. 
The  drying-room  contained  2,500  feet  of  steam  pipe, 
all  exposed  to  plain  view,  and  gave  off  more  heat  than 
was  necessary,  so  that  the  system  had  to  be  throttled. 
After  losing  ton  upon  ton  of  material,  the  pipe  system 
was  torn  out,  and  a  huge  furnace  made  of  boiler  plate, 
forty-two  inches  in  diameter  and  seven  feet  high, 
properly  jacketed,  was  substituted.  No  trouble  is  now 
had  from  the  drying.  Will  some  of  our  honored  con- 
temporaries offer  an  explanation  of  this  phenomenon  ? 
We  have  been  raised  in  that  old  school  wherein  is 
taught  that  a  given  number  of  degrees  of  temperature 
is  the  same  in  ordinary  atmospheric  air  in  its  physical 
and  chemical  attitude,  regardless  of  the  source. 

The  above  article  was  clipped  from  a  Boston  paper 
some  few  weeks  since,  and  it  occurred  to  me  that  it 
was  one  of  the  best  proofs  in  favor  of  "Hot  Air 
Bathing  ' '  as  compared  with  vapor  or  heat  radiated 
from  steam  pipes,  that  I  have  ever  seen  advanced  by 
any  authority,  but  I  have  ever  contended  that  there 
was  a  vast  difference  between  the  two,  in  favor  of  the 
dry  heat.  Any  one  at  all  acquainted  with  "  Hot  Air 
Bathing,"  will  see  at  once  the  great  importance  of  this 
distinction  when  they  reflect  that  in  one  case  the  body 
is  surrounded  by  dry  hot  air,  which  must  favor  the 
exosmosis  of  the  watery  portion  of  the  blood  through 
the  coats  of  the  cutaneous  capillaries,  and  the 
endosmosis  of  oxygen,  and  at  the  same  time  favor 
evaporation.  While  in  the  other  case,  the  body  is 
surrounded  by  vapor,  which  would  be  absorbed  in 
place  of  oxygen,  while  evaporation  would  be  checked. 


—  187  — 

[u  the  one  case  you   have  exosmosis  of  fluid  and 
absorption  of  oxygen;  in  the  oilier  case,   von   have 

neither. 

This  explanation   fully  accounts   for  the   glutinous 
coating  upon  the  skin  <>f  bathers,  when  thej  first  enter 

a  hot   room  healed  by  steam  pipes  Or  vapor.       I   should 

not  expect  as  favorable  results  in  the  treatment  of 
diseases  with  vapor,  (especially,  in  chronic  cases, 
where  the  bath  would  have  to  be  continued  for  weeks  | 
as  with  pure  dry  heat.  This  fact  is  demonstrated  by 
the  Hot  Springs  of  Arkansas.  No  one  is  benefited 
there  who  has  weak  and  diseased  lungs,  but  on  the 
contrary,  are  made  worse  and  are  sent  away.  While 
in  the  Hot  Air  of  the  Turkish  Bath,  they  are  always 
relieved,  (even  in  hopeless  cases)  and  where  there  is 
simply  functional  derangement  they  invariably  get  well 
if  they  give  it  proper  attention. 


Women  and  the  Bath. 


Roman  and  Grecian  ladies,  famous  for  their  beauty 
centuries  ago,  resorted  constantly  to  the  heated  bath, 
knowing  from  experience  its  effect  alike  upon  the  beauty 
and  upon  the  health,  and  centuries  later,  women  noted 
for  their  wonderful  charms  even  in  old  age.  Ninon  de 
l'Enclos  and  others,  resorted  to  the  bath  as  often  as  did 
the  ancient  beauties.  They  were  enamored  of  it, 
knowing  that  so  far  as  human  charms  could  be  increased 
and  retained,  the  bath  purifying  constantly  the  system 
afforded  the  means.  To-day,  with  the  improvements 
made  possible  in  the  application  of  the  bath  by  modern 
inventions,  it  is  remarkable  that  the  number  of  ladies 
who  avail  themselves  of  it  is  not  far  greater  than  in  the 
past.  The  Turkish  Bath  is  a  more  perfect  thing — more 
completely  adapted  to  enjoyment  in  taking  it.  aud  to 
promote  health  and  beauty  in  its  effects,  than  any  bath 
available  to  the  famous  women  of  history.  Yet  now, 
instead  of  all,  but  the  wiser  of  the  ladies  resort  to  it 
regularly. 

The  idea  of  womanly  beauty  without  the  accompa- 
nying idea  of  absolute  bodily  cleanliness  and  purity,  is 
an  impossible  thing.  Yet  there  are  belles  who  forget 
the  fact.  It  is  a  shocking  thing  to  say,  but  there  are 
women  fair  enough  of  feature  and  form,  dressed  richly, 
and  graceful  enough  of  carriage,  who  lack  the  greatest 
eharm  of  all,  unconscious  of  its  very  existence.     The 


—  18!)  — 

novelists  and  poets  say,  and  i1  is  an  actual  physical  fact, 
thai  from  the  perfect  cleanly  body  exhales  a  faint  per- 
fume, distinguishable  to  the  senses  li  would  be  wel' 
were  all  women  to  remember  this.  There  is  no  per- 
fume exhaled  from  the  form  of  the  woman  who  never 
takes  the  bath. 

Nature  makes  no  distinctions,  and  the  more  beautiful 

of   women  have  a  skin  which,  while  it  may  be  originally 
whiter  and  Bofter,  is  as  full  of  minute  pore-  as  is  that 
of  the  coarsest  men.  and  these  minute  pores,  gradually 
filling,  cannot    be    cleansed  by   the  ordinary    bath,   and 
once  clogged  with   impurities,  produce  sallowness, 
of  perfect  beauty  of  complexion,  and  what  almost   re- 
sembles disease.     Even   more  susceptible  than  man  is 
woman  to  this  influence,  which,  particularly  in  the  great 
cities  where  the  air  is  loaded  with  impurities,  is  a  con- 
-lant  thin--.      Whiteness  and  softness  of  skin  and  fresh- 
lies-    of  countenance,    are  the  direct   result    of  perfect 
care  of  the  body  :  and  as  the  dust  and  dirt  of  cities  are 
artificial  evils  for  which  nature  has  not  provided  a  rem- 
edy, so  the  Turkish  Bath  is  an  artificial  means  of  coun- 
teracting these  evils.     It  is  the  greatest  of  tonics,  the 
best  of  cosmetics. 

Ladies  who  have  taken  the  Turkish  Baths  regularly 
need  not  he  told  all  this.  It  is  but  a  simple  statement 
of  a  physical  and  medical  fact  for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  have  not  yet  learned  the  secret.  It  is  not  to  he 
presumed  that  ladies  who  are  enjoying  the  benefit  of 
the  Rath  will  keep  from  their  friends  the  knowledge  of 
what  is  the  greatest  of  all  preservatives  of  health  and 
beauty:  but  they  would,  perhaps,  be  justified  in  doing 
so,  since    it  i-  the    natural    de-ire    iA'    one   woman  to  !>,. 


—  190  — 

fairer  than  another,  and  since  they  have  at  least  a  right 
to  be  silent  on  a  delicate  subject. 

Of  the  value  of  the  Turkish  Bath  in  cases  of  weak  - 
ness  or  disease  of  the  class  to  which  women  alone  are 
liable,  much  has  been  written  and  said,  and  the  know- 
ledge ought  to  be  general.  In  this  brief  article  it  is 
but  intended  to  call  attention  to  those  benefits  of  the 
Bath  which  are  certain  in  every  case,  and  which  every 
Lady  is  seeking.  S.  W. 


The  Value  of  the  Turkish   Bath  to 
Business  Men 

Cannot  be  estimated  in  dollars  and  cents,  as  it  is 
practically  invaluable  to  them.  None  know  better 
than  the  merchant,  the  book-keeper  or  the  clerk  thai  a 
dull,    languid,    lazy   feeling   is   not   alone   prejudicial 

to  their  business  interests,  but  is  unpleasantly  detri- 
mental to  health.  The  merchant,  confined  night  and 
day  by  the  laborious  duties  of  his  business,  is  mentally 
over-worked,  and  the  main  organs  of  life's  citadel 
become  paralyzed  in  their  efforts  to  perform  the 
functions  imposed  upon  them  by  the  laws  of  nature. 
The  hook-keeper,  kept  from  morning  until  night  at 
the  desk,  is  restricted  from  all  exercise,  and  he,  too, 
becomes  an  easy,  though  unwilling  victim  to  the  fatal 
maladies  that  overtake  those  of  sedentary  habits.  The 
clerk  usually  has  no  regular  hours  for  meals,  and  is 
compelled  to  take  a  bite  here  and  there,  is  exposed  to 
draughts  and  colds,  and  generally  becomes  a  confirmed 
dyspeptic,  sickly,  and  of  a  melancholy  nature.  We 
here  write  of  three  distinctive  classes  of  business  men 
because  they  are  the  three  most  generally  found  suffer- 
ing from  various  ills  which  do  not  for  years  incapacitate 
them  entirely  from  work,  but  which  finally  become 
fatal  in  their  effects.  What  is  the  remedy?  asks  one. 
What  shall  I  do  to  be  cured?  asks  another.  Thank 
(iod,  the  intelligence  and  common  sense  of  the  ancients 


—  192  — 

has  been  investigated  and  confirmed  by  the  present 
age,  and  the  Turkish  Baths  in  their  purity,  simplicity 
and  efficiency  are  recommended  by  all  who  have  tested 
them  as  the  most  salient,  powerful  and  effective  cure 
for  the  ailments  mentioned  above.  They  are  unfailing 
in  their  remedial  action  when  properly  used,  and  have 
done  more  towards  benefiting  the  business  men  of 
St.  Louis  than  all  other  remedies  combined.  Our 
bankers,  lawyers,  physicians,  merchants,  and  others, 
all  bear  testimony  to  their  wonderful  effects  on  the 
system  Not  alone  is  the  diseased  body  cleansed  and 
purged  of  the  seeds  of  disease,  but  in  addition  thereto 
the  organs  that  sustain  and  regulate  life,  are  restored 
to  their  pristine  vigor  and  regularity.  No  man  knows 
what  it  is  to  be  clean  until  he  has  enjoyed  the  felicitous 
delights  of  the  Turkish  Baths,  and  no  individual  has 
tasted  the  cup  of  luxury  unless  he  has  revelled  in  this 
supremest  of  luxuries  Why  be  ill,  moping  about  and 
miserable,  when  the  Turkish  Bath  will  instil  new  life 
and  new  vigor  ? 


DRUG  DISEASES. 


Ii  is  a  fact  <>n  which  the  public  cannol  too  Beriously 
ponder,  that,  by  the  remorseless  pursuit  of  their  prac- 
tices, drug  doctors  have  succeeded  in  creating  a  multi- 
tude of  new  diseases,  which  they  have  themselves 
christened;  principally,  by  the  name-  of  the  different 
drugs,  that  are  instrumental  in  causing  them.  It  is  an 
undisputed  fact,  that  drugs,  which  are  habitually  and 
freely  prescribed  in  ordinary  cases  of  illness,  are  the 
causes  of  a  multitude  of  the  most  serious  diseases 
which  among  the  profession  are  known  as  drug  dis- 
ease. I  am  certain,  says  Dr.  E.Johnson,  "  I  speak 
the  literal  truth ,  the  simple,  the  unexaggerated   truth, 

trjn  i)  /  assert  that  thousands — not  hun<lred8 — but  thou- 
sands of  human  beings  ore  killed  every  year,  alom  by 
drug  medication" 

There  is  nothing  very  novel  in  this  practice,  however, 

but  let  us  look  at  the  matter  in  detail. 

Dr.  Pereira,  one  of  the  most  eminent  authorities  on 
"  Materia  Medica,"  and  held  in  high  estimation  by  the 
drug  school — says  of  alkalies,  which  are  in  constant 
use,  as  potash,  soda,  ammonia,  magnesia,  that  "by 
continued  use  they  give  rise  to  increased  activity  of 
the  different  secreting  organs  and  of  the  absorbing 
vessels  and  glands  ;  effects  which  are  analogus  to  those 
caused  by  mercury.     After  some  time,  the  digestive 


—  194  — 

functions  becomes  disordered,  the  appetite  fails,  the 
blood  becomes  thin  and  darker  colored,  and  loses 
its  power  of  spontaneous  coagulation  ivhen  drawn  from 
the  body ;  the  whole  system,  and  more  particularly  the 
digestive  organs,  become  enfeebled,  and  a  state  precisely 
similar  to  that  of  scurvy  is  brought  on." 

The  disease  thus  produced  is  called  alkaline  scurvy. 
Yet  the  treatment  of  rheumatic  fever  by  alkalies  is 
the  popular  thing. 

Arsenic  in  the  most  minute  doses,  (Allopathic 
doses)  produces  a  disease  which  the  same  authority, 
says — medical  practitioners,  occasionally  mistake  for 
English  cholera! — or,  infantile    remittent,   otherwise 

gastric  fever." 

And  he  adds,  the  "mistake  is  sometimes  attended 
with  consequences  equally  fatal  to  the  patient  and  the 
reputation  of  the  physician.'" 

This  pleasant  disease  figures  in  medical  nosology  as 
Febris  Arsenicalis.  Then  there  is  another  disease  the 
same  poison  gives  rise  to,  which  is  distinguished  as 
Arsenical  Cephatitis,  from  the  fact  that  there  is  great 
inflammation  of  the  head  and  face.  The  glands  of 
the  jaw  and  face  become  enlarged,  as  in  a  case  Dr. 
Pereira  quotes  -from  a  French  authority,  (Desgranges), 
"  giddiness,  fainting,  burning  sensation  at  the  pit  of 
the  stomach,  occasional  vomiting,  heat  in  micturation, 
constipation,  trembling  "of  the  limbs,  and  delirium 
were  also  present." 

Iodine  is  a  drug  most  freely  prescribed  in  its  simple 
or  uncombined  state,  in  tinctures,  or  as  it  exists  in 
many  preparations,   and  the  disease  to  which  its  use 


—195  — 

gives  rise,  is  called  Todism.  According  to  Dr.  Pereira, 
it  is  a  very  dangerous  medicim  for  am  one  to  take  who 
is   "disposed   to  dyspepsia,"  that  is,  "indigestion." 

Dr.  Thompson,  Professor  of  Materia  Medica  in  the 
London  University,  says  of  iodine,  "  Its  primary  in- 
fluence is  exerted  upon  the  stomach,  a  fact  whirl,  has 
been  fulrj  ascertained  by  the  appearance  observed  on 
thai  organ  in  persons  who  havebeen  poisoned  l>;/  it.'* 
And  lie  adds,  "Like  other  medicines,  il  accumulates 
in  the  system,  and,  therefore,  the  continued  employ- 
ment of  it  even  in  small  doses,  has  occasionally(?) 
proved  fatal." 

Mercury  has  lone-  been  regarded  by  the  profession 
as  the  king,  or  queen  bee,  of  medicine — a  sovereign 
drug,  under  whatever  gender,  and  it  has  been  called, 
"  the  physician's  sheel  anchor'  It  is  held  to  he  a 
sheetanchor  in  fever,  says  Professor  B.  F.  Barker,  of 
New  York  Medical  College.  But  it  is  an  anchor  that 
moors  your  patient  to  the  grave.  By  its  use  alone 
hundreds  upon  hundreds  of  thousands  have  been 
slaughtered,  and  must  necessarily  continue  to  be 
slaughtered  as  lone-  as  its  use  is  persevered  in,  while 
thousands  upon  thousands  who,  from  one  cause  or 
other,  it  did  not  kill  outright,  have  been  disfigured  and 
tormented  for  life  by  it-  disastrous  effects  on  their 
system.  The  preparations  in  which  this  deadly  poison 
consitutes  the  staple  ingredient  are  very  numerous, 
bul  that  most  commonly  administered  is  known  as 
calomel,  or  the  chloride  of  mercury.  It  matters  not . 
however,  in  powder  or  pill,  combined  or  sublimated, 
it  destroys  life  rapidly,  or  by  protracted  agony,  accor- 
ding as  it  is  administered,  while  it   has  the  peculiar 


— 196  — 

merit  of  being  the  prolific  parent  of  a  number  of 
new  diseases ,  the  very  mention,  or  rather  the  enu- 
meration of  which,  it  is  horrible  to  contemplate. 
To  make  my  point  good,  and  to  clinch  the  nail  right 
here,  I  quote  from  the  Allopathic  Text-Books  a  few 
of  the  many  new  diseases  caused  by  the  use  of  mercury, 
(in  its  different  combinations)  which  the  world  never 
would  have  been  cursed  with — if  medical  science  had 
not  introduced  mercury  as  a  curative  agent  in  disease. 

1.  Febris  Erethica  Nel  Salivosa — Inflammatory,  or 
salivary  fever. 

2.  Erethismus  Mercurialis — A  fever  characterized 
by  prostration  and  depression.  The  action  of  the  heart 
will  sometimes  cease  instantaneously,  and  death  ensue. 

3.  Mercurial  Enteritis — Mercurial  inflammation  of 
the  bowels. 

4.  Eczema  Mercuriale — Mercurial  skin  disease. 

5.  Mercurial  Cachexia, — Characterized  by  irritable 
circulation,  external  pallor,  and  emaciation;  hectic 
fever,,  and  almost  invariably  terminating  in  phthisis 
(consumption.) 

6 .  Tremor  Mercurialis . 

7.  Mercurial  Stomatitis — A  disease  that  ensues 
when  salivation  has  been  designedly  effected,  but  can- 
not be  subdued.  De  Pereira  states  :  "A  few  grains  of 
blue  pill  administered  for  a  liver  complaint,  brought  it 
on  in  a  female,  and  in  another  instance  that  of  a  child 
four  years  old.  The  latter  was  produced  by  a  few 
grains  of  calomel  !  " 

8.  Diarrhona  Mercurialis — Mercurial  purging,  or 
mercurial  disease  of  the  pancreas. 


—  1!)7  — 

!'.  TJrorrhea  Mercurialis — A  kind  of  mercurial  diabe- 
tie,  or  ratber  diuresis 

1<>.   ffidrosis  Mercurialis — Mercurial  sweats. 

11.   Miliaria   Mercurialis — A  form  "I"  skin  disease. 

L2.  Angina  Mercurialis-^X  mercurial  inflammation 
and  sloughing  of  t  be  gullel . 

L3.   Neuralgia    Mercurialis — [nduced   by    mercury. 

II.    Paralysis  Mercurialis — Same  cause. 

L5.   Apoplexia  Mercurialis — Use  of  Mercury. 

ir>.  Amaurosis  Mercurialis — Dimness  of  sight,  «>r 
total  blindness. 

And  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  chapter;  !>nt  the  above 
named  are  sufficient  to  convince  all  but  idiotsthai  mer- 
cury is  not  a  healing  balm,  but  the  deviV  so  wn  drug;  and 
as  I  have  remarked  above,  if  drug  practitioners  had  never 
dosed  their  victims  with  mercury,  the  above  diseases, 
with  scores  of  others  I  could  name,  would  never  have 
been  known.  Dr  Thompson,  who  is  often  quoted  as 
high  authority  in  Materia  Medica  says:  "Mercurial 
Preparations,  whether  chlorides,  cyanides,  or  iodides, 
are  decomposed,  and  the  mercury,  in  a  metallic  form, 
is  either  thrown  out  of  the  bod}'  by  the  skin  or  lungs, 
or  under  certain  circumstances  is  deposited  in  theglands 
or  bancs."  Because  the  tendency  of  mercury  is  to  pro- 
duce fatal  diseases,  lie  says,  "On  this  account  mercuri- 
als should  In-  introduced  into  the  system  gradually,  aw! 
fh<  mildest  forms  of  the  'preparations  first  employed^ 

A  slow    death,  the  professor  of  Materia  MedlCa  thinks, 

preferable  to  a  rapid  one  !   ! 
Under  the  circumstances,  it   seems  to  me  a  person 


—  198  — 

with  any  common  sense  would  ask,  "  Why  introduce 
it  into  the  system  at  all  in  any  shape  or  form  ?  But 
no,  it  is  said,  we  must  not  ask  questions  ;  we  employ  a 
physician,  and  if  he  don't  know,  who  should? 

What  is  this  world  coming  to  if  we  are  to  doubt  our 
family  physician,  who  is  educated,  made  drugs  his 
study,  etc.,  etc.  That  is  what's  the  matter.  He  has 
made  Materia  Medica  his  study,  instead  of  Physiology 
and  the  laws  of  health.  How  to  cure  the  sick,  instead 
of  how  to  keep  them  well.  They  take  the  bull  by  the 
tail  (to  use  a  homely  phrase, )  instead  of  by  the  horns, 
and  until  medical  schools  change  their  methods  com 
pletely,  the  drug  doctors  are  not  the  ones  to  take 
charge  of  the  individual  sick,  or  look  after  the  sanitary 
interests  of  the  community. 


THE  TliKK  I  SI  I    BATH. 


True  History  op  era   [Introduction    in    St.   Louis. 


A  few  weeks  ago  an  event  occurred  which  offered 
occasion  for  writing  the  history  of  the  Turkish  Bath  in 
St.  Louis,  and  one  of  our  prominent  morning  papers 
improved  the  opportunity;  unfortunately,  however, 
the  information  imparted  in  the  historical  sketch  then 
given  was,  aside  of  its  incompleteness,  so  inaccurate  as 
to  confound  the  entire  article.  With  an  anticipation 
of  t  he  importance  which  the  Bath  must,  ere  long,  obtain 
as  a  remedial  agent  for  all  diseases  as  well  also  as  a, 
preventive  against  the  worst  ills  peculiar  to  our  climate, 
it  becomes  our  duty  to  correct  the  errors  of  that  sketch, 
and  thereby  place  upon  the  records  the  true  history  of 
tin'  introduction  and  establishment  of  the  Turkish 
Bath  in  our  city. 

In  the  fall  of  1868,  Judge  Thomas  T.  Gantt,  being 
impressed  with  the  invaluable  uses  of  the  hath,  opened 
a  correspondence  with  Dr.  Geo.  F.  Adams,  at  the  time 
proprietor  of  two  Turkish  Bath  establishments  in  Bos- 
ton, with  the  view  of  obtaining  his  opinion  and  assist- 
ance in  the  construction  of  similar  bath-rooms  in  St. 
Louis.  During  the  correspondence  several  prominent 
St.  Louis  gentlemen  visited  Dr.  Adam--"  institutions  in 


—  200  — 

Boston,  and  became  so  infatuated  with  the  luxury  and 
effects  of  the  bath,  that  they  at  once  joined  with  Judge 
Gantt  in  urging  Dr.  Adams  to  come  to  St.  Louis  and 
see  what  could   be  done  towards  establishing;  a  bath 
here.     Some  of  Judge  Gantt's  friends,  however,  sub- 
sequently became  lukewarm  towards    the    enterprise, 
but  he  continued  his  best  endeavors,  and  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  raising  $18,000,  although  $40,000  was  the 
sum  fixed  upon.     Dr.  Adams  came  to  St.  Louis,  and, 
after  considering  the  proposition,  he  was  authorized  to 
return  to  Boston  and  procure  the  plans  and  specifica-  ; 
tions.     This   being  done,    Dr.    Adams    arrived  in  St.   .; 
Louis  January   15th,   18G9,  but  found  that  little  had  Vs. 
been  done  towards  perfecting  arrangements  during  his  < 
absence.     His  return,  however,  infused  new  life  in  the'     \ 
enterprise  and  the  work  of  securing  additional  funds 
to  carry  out  the  project  properly  was  begun  again  by 
Judge  Gantt,  who  gave  a  public  lecture  on  the  subject 
in    Polytechnic    Hall,  which    was    largely    attended. 
Shoitly  after  the  lecture  an  association  was  formed  and 
a  charter  obtained  from  the  State  for  the  incorporation 
of  the  Turkish  Bath  Company  in  St.   Louis.     Among 
the  names  of  the  organizers  were  T.  T.  Gantt,  C.  T. 
Burns,  Joseph  O'Neil,  and  several  more  of  our  best 
citizens. 

Thus  far  the  friends  of  the  bath  felt  confident  of  its 
early  establishment,  but  now  another  barrier  interposed 
itself  and  prevented  the  success  of  the  enterprise  thus 
seemingly  auspiciously  inaugurated.  The  balance  of 
the  necessary  funds  could  not  be  raised,  and  finally  it 
was  declared  the  time  was  not  ripe  for  the  investment 
of  so  much  money  in  a  new  thing. 


—  201  — 

In  the  February  following,  Mr.  Robinson,  (latelj 
deceased)  who  was  a1  thai  time  proprietor  of  a  Large 
barber  shot,  al  No.  410 Market  Street,  approached  Dr. 
Adams  and  engaged  him  t<>  superintend  t be  building  of 
a  small  Turkish  Bath  as  an  auxiliary  to  his  barber  shop. 
Accordingly,  the  Doctor  made  the  plans,  furnished 
drawings  for  the  couches  and  plumbing,  heating  flues, 
ventilation,  and  all  the  work  was  done  under  lii>  direc- 
tion. The  work  occupied  only  a  fe^  weeks,  and,  when 
tlif  bath  was  ready  for  use,  the  Doctor  furnished  Mr. 
Robinson  with  the  necessary  instructions  for  giving  the 
baths  properly  ;  taughl  the  attendants  to  shampoo, 
and  thus  engaged  {'m  several  week-,  gave  Mr.  Robin- 
son  the  experience  for  conducting  the  institution  satis- 
factorily. 

Dr.  Adams,  having  disposed  of  his  Boston  establish- 
ments, determined  t<>  try  the  experiment  suggested  by 
Judge  Gantt,  and  when,  in  the  following  spring,  the 
corporate  body  abandoned  the  enterprise  entirely,  the 
Doctor  built  a  bath  at  No.  1603  Washington  Avenue, 
which  was  opened  to  the  public  October  8th,  1869,  and 
for  t  hree  years  proved  a  financial  success  The  increase 
of  patronage  finally  exceeded  the  capacity  of  the  insti- 
tution and  the  Doctor  was  induced,  in  1872,  to  build 
another  and  larger  bath  at  No.  .'Ill  North  Seventh 
Street.  This  lasl  establisinent  was  completed  and 
opened  dune  20th,  1873.  The  Doctor  continued  to  run 
the  Washington  Avenue  bath,  bul  reserved  it  for  ladies 
exclusively.  Tins  venture,  however,  proved  a  failure, 
the  cause  being  found  in  various  reasons  n> »t  necessary 
to  particularize  in  this  connection.  The  Doctor  then 
closed  his  Washington  Avenue  branch  and  confiued  bis 
attention  to  his  main  bath  on   Seventh  street,  devoting 


—  202  — 

three  mornings  of  each  week  to  ladies,  the  patronage 
from  whom  is  now  so  great  that  to  accommodate  them 
properly  more  time  is  being  asked.  It  is  no  more 
than  proper  to  state  here  that  Dr.  Adams  is  one  of  the 
oldest  and  best  experienced  Turkish  Bath  proprietors 
in  this  country,  and  his  bath  rooms  at  311  North  Sev- 
enth Street,  being  built  without  regard  to  cost,  is  the 
most  complete  institution  of  the  kind  west  of  New 
York  city. 

The  true  history  of  the  Turkish  Bath  in  St.  Louis 
ascribes  to  Judge  T.  T.  Gantt  the  honor  of  first  bring- 
ing the  virtues  of  the  bath  before  our  citizens,  and  to 
Dr.  Geo.  F.  Adams  the  credit  for  building  the  first 
bath  room,  and  giving  it  a  firm  footing  in  the  estima- 
tion of  St.  Louisians. 


Better  Than    Milk. 


In  the  time  of  "the  Directory,"  in  France, 

Skins  fair  and  soft  as  silk 
Were  counted  but  as  charms  of  circumstance; 

They  said  :  "  She's  bathed  in  milk." 
When  speaking  of  some  famous  reigning  belle, 

Some  court  of  beauty's  queeu, 
Of  whom  e'en  yet,  the  poets  love  to  tell 

Whose  portrait  yet  is  seen. 
Times  change,  yet  woman's  beauty  is  the  same, 

And  to  assure  her  reign 
By  proper  means,  as  sought  the  storied  dame, 

Will  haughtiest  woman  deign ; 
But.  wiser  than  her  sister  of  that  clay, 

The  present  beauty  hath 
Learned  to  enhance  her  charms,  a  surer  way — 

She  takes  the  Turkish  Bath. 


(  Mi  r  (  hvn    Experience. 


Doctor  Herberden ie  said,  in  "  Politics  and  Moral- 
ity" :  "  Experiena  may  be  called  the  the  teacher  of 
fools,  l>ul  in  the  study  of  nature)  then  is  no  other 
ijniih  to  trui  Jcnoioledge."  This  is  conclusive,  however, 
only  in  one  point — that  the  tnosl  extensive  practice, 
when  based  on  erroneous  principles,  can  never  become 
natural  and  truthful,  nor  lead  to  desirable  results  ;  and 
also,  that  Experience,  no  matter  how  enlarged  and  pro- 
longed— operating  on  ill-trained,  ill-educated  mind- 
warped  by  prejudice,  like  seed  sown  on  a  desert  of  sand, 
is  never  destined  to  take  root  and  fructify. 

Yet  Experience,  wisely  employed,  is  invaluable  to  a 
medical  practitioner  capable  of  following  and  profiting 
by  its  unerring  teachings.  It  stands  in  opposition  to 
the  speculative  theories  and  fanciful  systems  of  physic 
which,  propagated  by  schools,  has  inflicted  incalculable 
misery  on  mankind,  and  which  are  now  followed  as 
keenly  as  ever. 

If  a  physician  is  asked  for  a  reason  for  giwng  a  cer- 
tain drug  in  such  and  such  a  disease,  his  answer  invari- 
bly  is:  "  My  experienct  teaches  me  that  it  is  useful  in 
such  cases."  Nothing  can  be  more  convenient  than 
this  answer.  But,  then,  if  you  walk  right  straight 
from  physician  No  1  to  physician  No.  2,  he  will,  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten,  give  you  a  drug  whose  nature  and 


—  204  — 

effects  are  as  different  from  that  prescribed  by  No.  1 
physician  as  any  two  things  can  well  be.  Yet,  if  you 
inquire  of  No.  2  why  be  orders  for  your  case  the  par- 
ticular drug  or  drugs  he  prescribes,  he  will  give  }^ou  the 
same  answer  as  the  first.  He  will  tell  you  that  experi- 
ence has  satisfied  him  that  the  drug-  he  has  ordered  for 
you  is  useful  in  such  cases.  At  this  rate  remedies  for 
diseases  must  be  as  plentiful  as  blackberries.  But  what 
possible  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  this  kind  of  expe- 
rience of  any  one  out  of  twenty  men,  when  it  is  found 
that  the  experience  of  each  of  the  twenty  .  is  contra- 
dicted by  the  experience  of  all  the  others  ?  Every  man 
prescribes  according  to  his  own  experience. 

The  truth  is,  that  what  they  call  experience  is  mere 
accident.  But  my  experiences  that  I  propose  to  give 
in  this  article  are  not  accidental  or  jumped  at,  but  a 
positive  and  real  experience.  "  The  study  of  nature  is 
the  only  guide  to  knowledge  "  in  matters  appertaining 
to  the  laws  of  life  and  health . 

For  thirteen  years  and  more  I  have  devoted  all  my 
time,  all  my  energies,  (and  what  little  skill  I  may  have 
attained  in  a  practice  of  more  than  thirty  years ) ,  to 
the  principles  and  the  merits  of  the  "  Hot- Air  Bath" 
as  a  remedial  agent.  Seconded  earnestly  and  faithfully 
by  my  wife — partly  from  the  fact  that  it  gave  me  cour- 
age and  pleasure,  and  partly  from  the  satisfaction  man- 
ifested by  her  patrons,  who  visited  the  Bath  for  its 
novel  and  new  way  of  bathing,  as  well  as  those  who 
came  for  its  remedial  effects — we  have  worked  together 
earnestly  and  unremittingly  ;  and  although  the  balance 
on  the  Ledger  is  on  the  wrong  side,  yet  we  have  the 
satisfaction  of    knowino-  that  hundreds  of    thousands 


—  205  — 

have  enjoyed  the  greal  luxury,  and  thai  thousands  of 
ladies  and  gentlemen  bave  been  restored  to  perfect 
health  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Bath. 
Though  sacrifices  (both  financial  and  social)  bave  been 
made,  yel  we  feel  well  repaid  in  the  thought  that,  some 
time  in  the  far  future,  our  almost  gratuitous  labors  will 
be  appreciated  by  a  wiser  and  more  enlightened  gener- 
ation. 

I  feel  some  reluctance  in  speaking  of  my  experience, 
in  consequence  of  the  utter  unreliability  of  medical 
experienoi  as  portrayed  above.     Still,  my  experience  is 

a  new  one  :  and  :is  I  have  no  favor.-,  to  ask  of  any  one, 
no  opponents  to  punish,  and  do  possible  object  in  view 
but  to  relate  it.  honestly  and  truthfully,  I  must  allow 
my  readers  to  draw  their  own  conclusions. 

My  experience1  leads  nie  to  believe  t  hat  ninety-nine  out 
of  one  hundred  hat  hers  who  use  the  Bath  for  cleanli- 
ness and  for  sanitary  purposes,  are  delighted  with  it, 
and  recommend  it.  In  chronic  cases  of  disease  all  are 
benefited,  and  where  there  is  no  organic  disease  they 
invariably  get  well,  if  they  give  it  proper  time  and 
attention.  My  experience  leads  me  to  believe  that  many 
organic  diseases  have  been  cured  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  the  Hot-Air  Bath.  I  will  explain,  and 
give  reasons  for  the  faith  that  is  in  me.  1  have  had  in  my 
Charge  man}'  cases  of  Bright's  Disease  of  the  kidney-. 
The  patients  stated  to  me  that   for  months  they  had 

keen  under  treatment  for  this  disease  ;  that  they  had  bad 

consultations  with  the  ablest  medical  men  of  this  city, 

and  that  their  decision  was  Bright's  Disease.  Indeed, 
in  two  cases  I  saw  and  conversed  with  their  family 
physicians;  they  informed  me  that    their  cases    were 


—  206  — 

hopeless,  but  remarked  that  if  the  patients  could  be 
made  to  sweat  their  lives  might  be  prolonged,  but  that 
they  never  could  get  well. 

One  of  those  patients  visited  the  Bath  sixtjr-three 
•days  in  succession.  So  feeble  was  he  at  first  that  he 
was  brought  in  a  carriage  the  first  twenty  days.  His 
health  improved  steadily — his  weight  was  reduced  from 
140  pounds  to  105,  often  losing  from  4  to  5 J  pounds 
each  Bath.  In  less  than  four  months  he  was  perfectly 
well,  and  has  remained  so,  now  eight  years.  I  need  not 
say  that  he  still  continues  his  weekly  Bath,  and  that  he 
credits  the  Bath  for  his  physical  salvation.  I  have  had 
many  such  cases  come  uuder  my  observation,  and  nearly 
all  have  recovered.  Hundreds  of  cases  of  kidney  dis- 
eases, in  their  different  phases,  have  recovered  while 
using  the  Bath.  If  the  patient  is  entirely  under  my 
care  I  invariably  advise  him  to  let  drugs  alone  ;  and,  by 
the  way,  I  here  declare  that  patients  who  let  drugs  en- 
tirely alone,  improve  faster  than  those  who  dose  while 
taking  a  course  of  Baths. 

Chronic  Diarrhoea,  every  one  knows,  (especially 
physicians)  how  troublesome  and  vexatious  such  cases 
are  to  treat  by  drugs— or  rather  in  the  regular  way, 
yields  to  the  soothing  influence  of  the  "Hot  Air  Bath." 
One  case  in  point.  Some  two  or  three  years  since  a 
gentleman  from  Whitehall,  111.,  age,  past  sixty, 
stated  his  case  thus-wise :  I  have  been  out  of  health 
for  more  than  six  years  ;  have  suffered  from  chronic 
diarrhoea  most  of  the  time  ;  have  employed  the  best 
doctors  in  this  city  and  country ;  have  been  to  all  the 
springs  I  know  of,  of  any  note  ;  have  spent  the  last 
winter  in  Georgia,  and  am  to-day,   worse  than  I  was 


—  207  — 

when   I   wciil   South    in  the    fall,    etc.,  etc.  :    and  now   I 

want  to  try  the  bath  as  :i  dernier  resort,  Km  I  have  no 
hope.  lie  commenced  taking  the  baths  th.it  day, 
April    LOth.     He   continued    them    for   two  or   three 

weeks;    was    nitleli     improver!;    lie  had   faith.       He  Sent 

for  hi 8  wife.     Rented  a    small  house    in  the    suburb 
continued  the   baths   until   October,  when  he  returned 

home  in  perfect   health,  and  ha-  remained  so  up  to  the 

present  time.  Here  was  a  case  of  ulceration  of  the 
bowels,  organic  <lis<>is<-  hi-  former  physicians  pro- 
nounced it,  and  no  possible  chance  for  his  recovery. 
.Main    similar   cases    have  been    treated    in    the  same 

way — without  drugs — with  the  same  results.  Chronic 
bronchitis — hopelessly  sick  to  all  appearance,  has 
been    successfully  treated    in  the    "Hot   Air    Bath." 

One  case  only.  J  propose  to  refer  to.  One  of  our 
most  prominent  insurance  men  had  been  under  treat- 
ment for  months  by  one  of  our  eminent  physicians  in 
the  city,  treated  of  course,  "  secundum  artem,"  but 
he  grew  worse,  and  that  continually.  Dr.  ad- 
vised him  to  \i-it  Denver,  and  gave  him  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  a  physician  of  that  city — the  patient 
continued  to  grow  worse  under  the  same  kind  of 
treatment  he  had  at  home,  and  finally  he  became  dis- 
gusted  with  drug  medication  and  quit  it,  and  com- 
menced a  course  of  "  Hot  Air  Baths  "  in  Denver.  To 
use  bis  own  words,  'k  it  worked  like  a  charm.  I  be- 
gan to  breathe  through  my  skin,  hut  my  cough  was 
still  terrific.  But  I  persevered,  was  much  improved 
iua  few  weeks,  and  returned  as  far  as  Kansas  City. 
Continued  the  baths  for  six  weeks — and  here  I  am — 
and  I  want  to  continue  the  good  work  with  you  if  it 
takes  a  year."      This    gentleman    was    a  perfect   wreck 


—  208  — 

physically.  Skin  and  bones,  so  to  speak.  He  con- 
tinued to  improve  and  is  now  well.  Weighing  seventy 
pounds  more  than  when  he  went  to  the  mountains. 

These  few  chronic  cases  mentioned,  are  simply  to 
show  what  a  splendid  physician  nature  is,  when 
trusted,  and  when  not  interfered  with  by  those  who 
actually  boast  of  doing  their  work.  Curing  disease, 
as  they  call  it,  better  than  the  Creator.  Hundreds  of 
chronic  cases  are  treated  monthly.      All  are  benefited. 

Acute  diseases  are  controlled  by  the  bath.  I  might 
say  truthfully,  in  a  marvelous  way,  as  well  as  pre- 
vented. 

As  a  sanitary  measure,  my  experience  leads  me  to 
sa}^  that  I  have  an  abiding  faith  that  the  Turkish  Bath 
bather  will  be  almost,  if  not  altogether,  exempt 
from  infectious  diseases,  and  I  do  not  over  estimate 
my  faith  in  saying  so 

My  first  years  experience  in  Saint  Louis  fortified  my 
belief  in  the  above  statement.  Small  pox  was  raging 
as  an  epidemic.  A  tenement  house  standing  next  door 
to  my  bath  and  residence,  contained  seven  families, 
five  of  these  families  had  more  or  less  cases  of  the 
disease.  Servants  were  wild  with  fright,  and  every 
body  about  the  house  was  alarmed.  I  was  urged 
repeatedly  to  be  vaccinated.  Also  to  have  my  son 
and  another  boy  living  with  us.  I  finally  consented 
to  have  the  boys  attended  to — but  I  insisted  also  that 
they  should  take  the  hot  air  bath  every  day,  as  they . 
and  all  the  rest  of  the  family  had  been  doing  for  sev- 
eral weeks.  The  boys  were  vaccinated  three  times  in 
as  many  weeks,  but  it  did  not  take.     I  had  them  both 


vaccinated  the  fourth  time,  and  omitted  the  bath. 
They  both  had  what  is  called  good  arms.  It  i-  also  a 
fact,  (and  I  presume  there  arc  scores  who  will  certify 
to  what  I  am  aboul  t"  -.n  )  every  gentleman,  everv  one 
who  had  been  vaccinated,  and  to  all  appearance  was 
going  to  take,  the  slight  inflammator)  appearance  dis- 
appeared and  the  seal)  dried  and  fell  off.  From  these 
fad-  physicians  and  other-  can  draw  their  own  conclu- 
sions. 

I  feel  that  they  are  worthy  of  more  than  :i  passing 
notice. 

Local  inflammation,  such  as  inflamed  eyes,  carbuncles, 
boils,  inflamed  and  swollen  glands,  are  more  readily 

relieved  with  one  hath  of  an  hour-'  duration,  than 
could  possibly  he  achieved  by  local  applications  in 
a  i.lav,  if  at  all.  I  have  seen  a  little  girl  with  granu- 
lated eye-lids,  for  two  years  and  more  suffering  (  blind 
in  one  eve,  and  she  could  not  bear  day-light  with  the 
other.)  recover  her  sight — granulations  completely  ab- 
sorbed, general  health  completely  restored,  by  simply 
attending  the  hath.  No  medicines  were  given,  no  local 
applications,  except  soft,  linen  cloths  wet  in  warm  wa- 
ter while  bathing,  and  the  same  used  on  going  to  bed 
at  night.  This  was  accomplished  in  about  six  months' 
time,  under  the  most  unfavorable  circumstances.  The 
girl  had  been  in  the  hands  of  the   most   excellent  ocu- 

• 

li-t-  in  tin-  city  for  more  than  two  year-. 

Chorea,  in  its  most  violent  and  destructive  forms, 
lias  been  permanently  cured  by  the  hath.  Insomnia  \< 
always  cured  by  the  hath.  In  many  instances  I  have 
known  bathers  to  go  to  sleep  immediately  after  com- 
ing   into    the    cooling    room    from     the    hath — in    some 


—  210  — 

instances  where  the  patient  had  not  been  able  to  sleep 
for  weeks,  everything  in  the  shape  of  anodynes  having 
failed. 

All  zymotic  diseases  are  completely  controlled  by 
the  judicious  application  of  the  bath. 

This  kind  of  experience  is  so  satisfactory  to  me  that 
I  am  anxious  to  have  all 'physicians  avail  themselves  of 
this  same  knowledge  that  passeth  all  understanding. 
But  I  have  already  expatiated  too  much  upon  my 
experience,  though  it  could  be  extended  to  an  unlim- 
ited extent,  but  will  close  by  saying  that  during 
thirteen  years  and  more,  not  an  accident  of  any  mo- 
ment has  occurred,  although  patrons  from  three  years 
old  to  eighty-five,  have  visited  us.  Sick  and  feeble 
invalids,  the  athlete,  men  and  women  of  sedentary 
habits,  the  robust  and  the  healthy,  all  join  in  one 
accord  to  praise  the  inestimable  value  of  the  Turkish 
Bath  in  health,  as  well  as  in  disease.  One  hundred 
and  forty  odd  thousand  names  registered  in  our  books 
join  in  this  universal  ciy.  Compare  my  experience 
with  the  experience  discussed  in  the  first  part  of  this 
article.     But  comparisons  are etc.,  etc. 


Exercise  and  (  Jlean  1  i  ness. 


When  we  think  of  it,  most  of  the  forma  of  medical 
treatmenl  consist  in  the  administration  <>f  exercise. 
Thia  exercise  may  be  internal  or  external  in  ite  applica- 
tion, local  or  general,  organic  or  constitutional.  What 
men  need  when  they  arc  sick  ia  some  mode  <>f  exercise. 
Sickness  implies  thai  there  ia  some  arresl  <>f  function, 
some  sluggishness  of  circulation,  some  congestion  or 
want  of  equalization  in  the  system,  which  exercise, 
properly  applied,  might  remedy.  One  man  takes  calo- 
mel and  gives  hi>  liver  a  somersault  ;  another  takes 
salts,  and  puts  his  stomach  and  intestines  in  a  state  of 
tribulation;  one  take-  digitalis  and  stimulates  the  heart  ; 
another,  with  quinine,  chords  upthenervoua  system. 

If  we  step  outside  the  province  of  drugs,  we  have 
the  Swedish  mountain  cure,  the  health  lift,  light  gym- 
nastics, manipulations,  electricity,  walking,  riding. 
And  all  these  may  serve  an  admirable  purpose,  each  in 
its  own  way.  lint  not  one  of  these  combines  so  many 
hygienic  qualitiesas  the  Turkish  Bath.  Indeed,  we  are 
almost  tempted  to  ask  what  health-giving  agency  is 
wanting  in  this  excellent  device  and  remedy,  while  in 
several  respects  it  is  unapproachable   in    its   salutary 

effect-. 

The  weak  patient  may  not  l>e  able  to  take  riding  so 
as  to  make  it   remedial  :   or  the  man   exhausted  bybusi- 


—  212  — 

ness  cannot  further  spare  his  vitality  to  take  a  walk. 
He  needs  exercise,  no  doubt.  He  may  have  been  on 
his  feet  all  day,  at  the  counter,  or  sitting  at  his  desk, 
busy  at  his  books.  With  little  energy  left  for  active 
exertion — with  possibly,  also,  a  little  pulmonary  weak- 
ness, a  little  indigestion,  a  slight  headache,  a  touch  of 
rheumatism,  and  some  signs  of  biliousness,  he  is  un- 
fitted to  take  active  exercise.  He  must  have  passive 
exercise,  i.  e.,  he  must  have  treatment  in  some  shape. 
He  may  try  some  drug  or  tonic  ;  he  may  try  electric 
shocks  or  the  health-lift ;  he  may  pack  in  cold  water  or 
eat  bran  bread,  but  he  will  frequently  find  that  after 
trying  all,  the  Turkish  Bath  is  the  one  remedy  that 
meets  his  case.     It  is  the  best  passive  exercise  known. 

In  the  first  place,  this  Bath  is  exactly  suited  to  the 
weak  or  tired  man,  disordered  in  his  nerves  and  jaded 
with  care.  He  has  only  to  submit,  Nothing  is  required 
of  him.  The  heat  is  grateful  and  soothing.  He  lies 
down  to  absolute  quiet  for  a  while,  then  he  is  manipu- 
lated by  the  hand  of  the  shampooer  in  every  part  of  the 
body,  until  every  muscle  is  touched  and  toned  with  the 
animal  magnetism  of  the  operator.  Every  internal 
organ  feels  the  gentle  effect  of  the  manipulating  and 
kneading  process,  while  the  skin  glows  with  the  im- 
parted activity  and  health.  The  liver  is  relieved  by  this 
cleansing  of  the  pores,  the  circulation  equalized,  the 
pulse  tempered,  the  nerves  quieted. 

How  few  persons  realize  the  importance  of  attention 
to  the  state  of  the  pores  of  the  skin.  Half  the  dis- 
eases of  this  sooty,  dusty  city  would  be  relieved  or 
averted  if  the  skin  were  kept  in  good  condition. 
Then -every  miasmatic    climate  doubles  the  difficulty 


—  2 1 :'»  — 

and  the  danger.  The  cutaneous  perspiration  (or 
"transpiration,"  as  Dr.  Carpenter  calls  it),  sensible 
and  insensible,  is  probably  twice  as  greal  in  u  man 
living  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  as  in  one  living  in  Colo- 
rado or  in  New  England.  Now,  it"  the  pores  are  choked 
with  biliary  deposits — if  the  capillaries  are  paralyzed 
with  the  poison  of  jaundice  and  malaria,  i  which  ordi- 
nary bathing  is  often  utterly  ineffective  i"  remove) — I 
confess  I  know  no  remedy  like  the  Turkish  Bath.  Nor 
has  a  man  any  safety  or  immunity  from  disease  while 
the  skin  i>  in  this  sluggish  and  unwholesome  conditiou. 
The  intimate  relation  which  the  cutaneous  excretion 
bears  to  bilious,  urinary  and  kidney  diseases  is  known 
to  all  physiologists.  Experiments  upon  the  lower  ani- 
mals by  Drs.  Forcaull  and  Becquerel,  show  that  the 
suppression  of  perspiration  by  covering  the  skin  with 
varnish,  glue  or  suet,  rapidly  lower-  the  temperature, 
prevent-  the  arlerializat  ion  of  the  blood,  tends  to  con- 
gestion of  the  internal  organs,  causes  albuminaria,  and 
in  time  cutaneous  asphyxia  and  death. 

J.  C.  L. 


MY  FIRST  BATH. 


I  had  a  cold.  I  had  starved  it  and  fed  it,  and  cough 
mixtured  it,  and  smothered  it  in  flannel,  but  it  still 
held  on  with  the  leech-like  tenacity  of  an  insurance 
agent  or  a  poor  relation.  I  tried  the  regular  practice, 
wishing  to  be  healed  in  a  respectable,  orthodox  fash- 
ion. Then  I  ran  after  the  "strange  gods"  of  Homoeo- 
pathy, .Electropathy,  Thompsoniansy,  but  I  gained 
nothing,  either  in  restored  health  or  respectability  of 
character.  One  man  suggested  "Whiskey  and  Rock 
Candy."  I  took  the  whisky  and  gave  the  candy  to 
the  baby.  A  mustard  plaster  was  recommended.  I 
made  my  spinal  column  externally  resemble  an  over- 
done lobster,  and  feel  like  the  back  of  Mazeppa  after 
he  had  finished  his  celebrated  bare-back  act.  I  then 
swallowed  three  half  pints  of  red-pepper  tea,  and  felt 
as  Mount  Vesuvius  must  feel  when  the  wind  is  the 
wrong  way!  Finally,  somebody  suggested  a  "cold 
pack."  They  wrapped  me  in  a  wet  sheet,  and  I  felt 
as  if  I  had  suddenly  discovered  the  North  Pole.  Then 
they  covered  me  to  the  chin  in  blankets,  while  I 
sweated  in  helpless  anguish,  shrouded  and  bandaged  in 
woolen,  like  Lazarus  in  the  Tomb  ;  a  singularly  alert 
fly  waltzed  on  the  tip  of  my  nose  until  I  shrieked  with 
the  tickle.  Then  a  friend  said  "try  a  Turkish  Bath." 
Now,  like  most  people  who  are  densely  ignorant  about 


—  215  — 

the  matter,  I  had  verj  decided,  and  carefully  matured 
convictions  upon  this  subject.  I  fell  thai  the  Turkish 
Bath  was  the  lasl  expiriug  ga6p  of  the  Spanish  inquisi- 
sition,  or  an  imperfect  substitute  for  that  j » 1 .- n • » •  which 
Mr.  Beecher  calls  obsolete.  I  had  been  told  and 
implicitly  believed  that  when  a  respectable,  wealthy 
old  citizen  had  a  son  inclined  to  imitate  the  only 
scriptural  model  that  seems  to  be  popular  among  the 
sons  of  our  first  families — the  Prodigal — he  took  him 
to  the  Turkish  Bath,  as  an  awful  warning  against  his 
possible  future. 

I  said  I  would  cohsull  the  doctors  ;  so  1  did.  Their 
testimony  against  the  bath  was  unanimous.  They  had 
never  seen  it  in  operation.  Had  always  steadily 
refused  to  listen  to  the  intelligent  testimony  of  any  one 
who  had.     Still  they  argued  like  this:     If   the  bath 

was  a  good  thing,  why  did  they  not   use    il  ?      They  did 

not  use  it.  i  rgo,  etc.,  etc.  ( me  doctor  described  the  pro- 
cess as  analogous  to  the  steaming  of  a  Murphy  potato. 
Another  thought  it  was  a  kind  of  human  laundry,  in 
which  the  body  was  possibly  run  through  a  patent  cog- 
wheel clothe-  wringer.  They  all  believed,  in  general 
lerins,  that  it  was  another  "section  of  the  ragged  edge 
of  the  day  of  judgment,"  and  only  needed  a  skillful 
imitation  of  the  shrieking  of  the  damned  to  make  the 
illusion  complete.  The  hath  might  clean  me,  it  could 
never  cure  me.  And  they  felt  like  the  charity  body 
in  relation  to  the  alphabet.  They  did  not  believe  it 
paid  to  go  through  so  much  to  gain  so  little.  Still  I 
did  not  get  better,  and  in  fear  and  trembling  I  went  to 
the  Bath.  I  made  my  will  previous  to  the  visit,  and 
took  a  more  than  ordinarily  affectionate  leave  of  my 
household — was  careful  to  obtain  legal  advice  respect- 


—  216  — 

ing  the  validity  of  my  life  insurance  claim,  in  case  I 
perished  under  the  heroic  treatment.  Then  I  came,  I 
saw,  I  was  conquered.  Prejudice  rolled  away  from  my 
mind,  as  the  porous  accumulations  of  }^ears  rolled 
from  my  frame.  I  discovered  then  what  I  had  long 
suspected,  viz.,  that  St.  Louis  dust  really  penetrates 
the  immortal  soul,  and  will  in  time  clog  the  delicate 
operation  of  the  conscience.  Under  the  dry  heat  my 
lightened  spirit  cast  off  its  load  of  undeveloped  sin, 
and  I  came  back  to  mankind  morally  rejuvenated. 
My  inner  nature  re-assumed  its  child-like  and  pristine 
purity.  I  felt  like  a  good  Catholic  coming  from  con- 
fession It  was  as  if  I  had  been  only  Baptized  by 
every  ex  denomination  in  town.  I  was  neither  baked, 
boiled, %  smothered  nor  steamed.  I  fell  into  a  gentle 
slumber,  under  the  serene  influence  of  150  degrees  in 
the  shade.  I  left  that  place  a  converted  man.  Now, 
when  I  have  a  cold,  a  head-ache,  a  back-ache,  an  all- 
ovei'-aclie,  when  I  am  tired  and  blue,  and  feel  as 
if  life  was  an  investment  that  did  not  pay  1  per  cent., 
I  go  to  the  "  Bath,"  and  the  clouds  roll  away,  and  I 
feel  as  happy  as  a  gum-chewing  schQol  girl  with  her 
first  trail.  Nemo. 


A  Little  Nonsense  .\D\v  and  Then,  Etc. 


LABOR  NOT  LOST :  Or.  All's  Well  mat  Ells  Well. 


I  )RAMAT18    PeR8<  )JH  I  . 


1 1  am  i.ii         Prince  oi  I  Denmark. 
M \<  in- in  King  oi  Scotland. 

8m  Jons   1'  ilstafi         Knighl . 


1 1  \i  Prince  ol  Wales. 

r.i.i  rus  \  Patriol . 

Romeo  \  Sick  Lover. 


Clerks,  Attendants,  Turk- 


S(  i  m:  [.—811  North  Seventh  St.  at  Nuou.     Enter  Hai 

11  \i .    And  thai  fat-witted  rogue  comes  hither 
I'll  play  liim  such  a  trick  thai  Doll,  his  leman, 

Shan't  kimw  his  face  when  next  he  goes  her  way. 

Enter    FALSTAFF. 

Faj  .    A  plague  on  this  gout,  say  I ; 
This  drinking  of  old  sack  has  spoiled  ray  waist, 
Made  gross  this  erst  slight  figure,  and  undone 
The  goodliest  master  piece  of  human  flesh 
That  ev.r  came  from  Mother  Nature's  mould. 
Hal.  you  here? 

HAL.      HOW  now,  fat  knave:    why  lookesl  thOU  BO  -our'.' 

1  a i  .      I'm   sorely  tried.  Hal,  and  surely  do  I  feel 
That  my  good  life  is  drawmg  to  a  close. 
Commend  me  to  -nine  leech  whose  skill  shall  make 
Your  valiant  Falstaff  a  sound  man  again. 

Hal.    'Tis  just  my  humor.  Jack:  go  seek  this  place, 
'Twill  ease  thy  pains,  make  fair  th\  bloated  face. 

[Hands  FALSI  mi    a  slip  of  paper 

FAL8TAFF  [reading]      The   Bath. 

Hot  air,  tis  curious ;  -till  I  ^<> 

To  make  this  ca-t  for  happiness  or  woe. 


[Exit.-] 


—  218  — 

E?iter  Hamlet,  Hal  following-  him    nnperceivect. 

Hamlet.     To  be  or  not  to  be — that  is  the  question 
Whether  'tis  nobler  in  the  mind  to  suffer 
The  Slings — Good  Day,  Prince  Harry. 

Hal.     Now  faith,  sweet  Hamlet,  you  look  not  well ; 
Thy  clothes  hang  loose  about  thee ;  and  thine  eye 
Wears  not  that  joysome  glance  I've  marked  of  yore, 
When  we  were  boys  together. 
Art  in  love,  good  Hamlet? 

Hamlet.     Even  so,  fair  Prince. 

Hal.     Woulds't  find  thyself  in  better  frame  of  mind, 
Dispel  the  shadows  that  oppress  thy  soul, 
And  be  once  more  a  merry,  Danish  Prince. 

Hamlet.     Marry  would  I. 

Hal.     This  missive  take. 
Obey,  and  'ere  the  morrow's  sun  has  dawned 
Hamlet  shall  be  himself  again. 
[Reads]  Seek  ye  the  Bath. 
Ay,  kind  friend,  I  will; 
And  should  it  ease  this  malady  of  brain 
Hamlet,  indeed,  will  be  himself  again. 

Scene  II.—  The  Office  of  the  Turkish  Bath.      Clerk  Seated  at  desk 
Enter  Falstaff. 

Pal.     Good  master  clerk,  my  Prince  has  bid  me  here 
To  test  the  powers  of  this  wondrous  Bath. 

Clerk.     Welcome,  Sir  John.     Your  hat  and  sword, 
And  now  one  dollar  and  a  quarter — the  fee. 

Pal.     Out,  Knave,  my  knightly  word; 
Will  that  suffice? 

Cleek.    Not  here,  sir  John;    hard  cash,  an'  please  you,  sir. 

Pal.     A  murrain  on  thee.     Here's  the  coin; 
But  if  thy  bath  does  not  my  gout  assuage 
•I'll  cudgel  thee.     Come,  lead  me  in. 

Enter  Hamlet,  Macbeth  a?id  Hal. 

Mac.     Sleep,  I'll  sleep  no  more. 
Hallo,  Prince  Henry,  and  our  Hamlet,  too. 

Hamlet.     What  seeks  the  great  Thane  here? 

Mac.     Repose,  young  Prince;  for  mind  and  body  rest. 

Hal.     Thou  hast  chosen  well,  oh,  Thane ; 
Enter,  and  bid  a  long  farewell  to  pain. 

[All  enter  bath,  followed  by  Attendants. 


—  211) — 

s.  i  \i    [H. — Interior  of  the  Hath.     Bamlet,  Falstapv,  Macbeth, 
and  II  m.  perspiring 

Yw.    Now,  beshrew  me,  Bal,  ii  ever  on  Gadshlll 
M\  lard  did  ooze  so  Creelj  as  thi>  hour. 
Nay,  mark  it  we1  the  floor 
With  the  besl  juices  of  a  saintlj  man. 

r  Ii' »M i :<>. 

Romi  o.    Oh,  g l  attendanl  on  this  stricken  hearl 

Lei  your  Bhampooing  hand  tall  tenderly. 
So,  so  even  now  I  feel  a  great  relief. 
Your  touch,  kind  sir,  so  gentle  and  so  bland, 
Reminds  me  of  the  gentle  Juliet's  hand. 

M  M  .     What  soothing  balm  is  here ! 
Conscience  grow  -  easy,  and  the  eating  cares 
Of  grim  misdeeds  fall  one  by  one  away. 
Methinks  were  Banquo's  ghosl  to  rise  up  here 
With  tranquil  mind  I'd  bid  the  shade  good  cheer. 

Enter  BR1  Tl  3. 

Brutus.     Yon  gentlemanly  sir  has  led  me  hither 
And  told  me  thai  the  grief  I  carry  with  me 
For  Caesar's  death  would  in  this  peaceful  place 
Soon  disappear. 

I'm.     Bo!  Roman  friend,  hast  thou  the  gout? 
<  »r  have  the  doctqrs  made  thee  -ick,  or  doth 
Greal  Caesar's  death  weigh  heavy  on  thymind? 

Bruti  s.    Not  all  remorse,  Sir  John, 
'Tis  mixed  with  rheumatism  which  I  caughl 
•  in  the  Campagna  several  month-  ago. 

Bal.    Then  resl  thee  lure,  noble  Brutus. 
Bere  -halt  thou  be  made  hale  to  slay 
A  dozen  Caesars  for  thy  country's  good. 

[All  adjourn  to  t 'he   Shampooing  Ziooin.] 

Si  i  m:  IV. —  The  office  of  the  Bath.     Clerk  reckoning   l"\i-i  w  p's 
account  Jor  drinks  and  cigars. 

Enter  Boa ,  Macbeth,  Hal,   Falstapf.  Brutus,  and  Bamlet. 

Bal.     Now  .  sirs,  that  ye  have  bathed,  I  bid  ye  tell 
If  this  good  hath  hath  eased  your  several  pains. 


—  220  — 

Fal.     Hamlet,  thou  art  a  brick. 
This  belly,  which,  like  a  Saratoga  trunk, 
I  carried  in,  has  shrunk  away  and  left 
The  goodliest  knight  in  all  this  Christian  land, 
Honest  Jack  Falstaff,  light,  and  brave,  and  gay. 
I  swear  I'll  come  here  every  second  day. 

Hal.     And  you,  Macbeth? 

Mac.     The  change  is  marvelous ; 
My  peace  of  mind  restored, 
My  frame  is  sound,  eased  is  my  aching  brain ; 
And  Birnam  Wood  may  come  to  Dunsinane 
A  thousand  times  before  it  scares  this  Thane. 

Romeo.     I'll  think  of  naught  but  Juliet. 
Away  with  Friar  Laurence's  gloomy  fears, 
I'll  to  my  Juliet  fly  and  tell  her  all 
This  process  for  her  Romeo  has  achieved. 
I'm  changed  so  much  I'm  sure  to  be  believed. 

Hamlet.     How  now,  my  friends,  it  seems  to  me  you  wear 
A  different  visage  each  since  last  I  saw 
Your  faces  underneath  the  bounteous  showers. 

Hal.     How  feels  the  gentle  Prince? 

Hamlet.     Beyond  all  telling,  Harry. 
Even  that  old  Polonius  could  not  now 
Disturb  the  even  current  of  my  thoughts. 
I'll  go  and  hug  Ophelia. 

Brutus  enters   humming  the  "  Sweet   By  a?id  By."1"1 

Brutus.     Now,  by  Diana's  temple,  I  could  slay 
Old  Caesar  o'er  again  and  never  feel 
That  aught  but  good  lay  in  the  patient  steel. 

Attendant.     Sir  John,  your  coat. 

Fal.     Thanks,  knave,  a  warm  garment,  faith. 

Hal.     Drop  that,  Jack,  'tis  mine.    Now,  gentlemen, 
When  cares  of  mind,  or  any  of  those  ills 
That  flesh  is  heir  to,  weigh  your  spirits  down. 
Leave  here  the  cross  and  bear  away  the  crown 
Of  joyous  health.     Farewell,  we'll  meet  again 
Within  this  sanctuary  from  human  pain.  . 

[curtain.] 

— \_From  San  Francisco  flammam. 


PERSONAL  AND  GENERAL 


[f  the  readers  of  this  work  think  or  believe  thai  I 
have  over-estimated  the  evils  of  drug  treatment,  or 
thai  I   have  been  uncharitable  towards  the  old  Bchool 

Profession  (in  other  words,  the  Regulars)  all  will 
please  hear  in  mind  thai  I  have,  in  every  instance, 
quoted  the  sayings  and  writings  of  the  besl  writer-. 
the  highesl  authorities,  and  as  profound  scholar-  as 
have  ever  lived,  and  all  are  acknowledged  as  such  in 
the  Medical  world — all  of  which  are  of  the  Allopathic 
school,  or  were.  I  have  myself  seen  more  human 
suffering  and  misery  caused  directly  from  the  drug 
treatrm  nt  than  from  all  other  causes  combined,  during 
a  life  of  more  than  sixty  years.  I  believe,  also,  that 
I  am  not  alone  in  such  belief — thai  any  honest  Allo- 
pathic Physician  who  has  been  in  practice  forty  years, 
or  even  less,  will  agree  with  me  in  many  of  my  asser- 
tions, if  not  all. 

To  fortify  myself  still  further  in  the  above  state- 
ments, I  quote  from  Boerhave,  (Med.  Inst.,  pane  K>1  )  : 
"  If  one  conies  to  weigh  without  passion,  the  good 
done  by  a  handful  of  true  sons  of  JEsculapius,  and 
the  evils  that  the  immense  number  of  physicians  have 
occasioned  to  the  human  race  since  the  origin  of  that 
science  until  the  present  day,  without  doubl  one  would 
think   that  it    would   be  more   profitable  that  there   had 


—  222  — 

never  been  a  physician  in  this  world."  Stahl  estimat- 
ed at  seventy  per  cent  the  number  of  patients  dying 
the  fault  of  physicians.  Speaking  a  little  further 
about  the  allopathic  therapeutics,  he  says  :  "  I  would 
wish  that  a  bold  hand  would  undertake  to  clean  out 
that  Augean  stable.  Very  courageous  is  he  who  dares 
to  study  that  science  so  much  crowded  with  errors. 
Where  the  language  is  just  as  much  defensive,  as  the 
thought,  and  where  everything  is  to  be  done  over  again, 
the  principles  just  as  well  as  the  materials."  Gritan- 
ner  pretends:  "  That  the  darkness  surrounding  the 
practice  of  medicine  is  so  thick  that  it  is  impossible  for 
a  ray  of  sunlight  to  penetrate  into  it,  in  order  to  ena- 
ble anybody  to  direct  its  course."  "Alas!"  says  he, 
"  who  will  be  able  to  discover  the  few  good  grains  lost 
in  the  immense  amount  of  chaff  that  physicians  have 
accumulated  during  4000  }^ears."  Dr.  Borden  cries  : 
"Thirty  years  have  I  guessed,  and  I  am  tired  of 
guessing." 

Dr.  Gilibert  has  given  us  a  rule,  "that  the  most 
learned  physicians  are  the  most  dangerous,  and  that 
these  are  those  that  kill  the  greatest  number  of  pa- 
tients because  they  doubt  nothing." 

Dr.  Barthez,  as  celebrated  a  physician  as  Doctor  Bor- 
den, emphatically  declared  that  he  did  not  believe  in 
medical  skill .  "  We  are , "  he  says ,  < '  blind  men  hitting 
with  a  stick  at  the  disease,  or  at  the  patient — so  much 
the  better  for  the  patient  if  we  strike  the  disease." 

Dr.  Bichat,  the  great  anatomist,  has  said  "that  ma- 
teria medica  is  of  all  sciences  the  one  where  is  to  be 
found  the  finest  illustration  of  the  oddities  of  the  hu- 
man mind  ;  which  I  say  is  not  a  science  ;  it  is  nothing 


—  223  — 

else  but  an  informal  compound  of  incorrect  ideas,  of 
trifling  observations,  <>f  illusory  means,  of  fantastical 
formulas." 

The  learned  physician,  Kappart,  Bays:  "Medicine, 
poor  science!  Physicians,  poor  savants!  Patients, 
poor  victims  I"  And  a  little  further  <>n  he  saj  - :  ■•  \> 
least  every  twenty  years  the  same  school  chauges  its 
system.  Sometimes  there  are  two  or  three  systems  in 
the  same  school ;  in  fact,  among  physicians  from  the 
same  school,  and  having  the  same  system,  there  are 
n<  >t  four  of  them  able  to  agree  before  h  pat  ienl  's  bed." 

Medical  science  is  in  m  complete  anarchy.  Thai  the 
profession  is  in  a  decline,  and  on  the  edge  of  an  abj  ss. 
Yon  have  no  medical  body ;  you  live  isolated  in  the  en- 
mity and  contempt  of  one  another;  the  disfavor  over- 
runs yourselves ;  from  every  part  you  are  without  re- 
sistance, as  well  as  without  power,  and  the  least  shock, 
long  and  boldly  repealed,  will  finish  and  ruin  yon.  I 
am  free  to  confess  that  I  have  the  most  profound  dis- 
gusl  for  drug  practice,  and  an  honest  contempt  for  the 
means  often  resorted  to  by  many  of  the  profession  to 
gain  a  livelihood — 

'•  Ways  thai  are  dark,  and  tricks  that  arc  vain." 


The  whole  secret  of  the  "  Turkish  Rath'"  over  the 
source-  and  springs  of  life,  consists  in  facilitating  by 
natural  means  the  process  of  renovation.  Liebig,  who 
is  authority  of  the  highest  repute,  has  testified  "by 
means  of  the  Turkish  Bath  treatment  </  changi  of  mat- 
ter is  effected  in  a  greater  degree  in  six  weeks,  than 
would  happen  in  the  <>r<ll m'i r>/  course  ^i'  nature  in  flint 
years,"  a  bold  statement,   bul  nevertheless  I   believe  it 


—  224  — 

true,  for  niy  twelve  years'  experience  in  administering 
the  bath  teaches  me  that  the  bath  acts  naturally,  salub- 
riously and  promptly,  with  a  marvelous  and  unerring 
certainty  that  nothing  else  can  equal,  in  facilitating  the 
renewal  process  of  organic  life. 

It  will  thus  be  understood  that  to  preserve  health, 
and  to  prevent  disease,  are  the  great  sanitary  ends  to 
be  obtained  by  the  judicious  use  of  the  Bath.  As  a 
social  institution  it  is  one  of  the  grandest  luxuries  one 
can  treat  himself  to.  Briefly,  health  is  preserved  by 
the  instrumentality  of  the  Bath,  maintaining  in  vigor- 
ous action  the  vital  organism  of  the  skin,  on  which  the 
functions  of  circulation,  nutrition  and  elimination  so 
largely  depend. 

Disease  is  prevented  by  hardening  the  body  against 
the  effects  of  variations  and  vicissitudes  of  .tempera- 
ture, which  is  of  incalculable  advantage  in  a  climate  so 
variable  as  ours  ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  by  imparting 
power  to  resist  miasmatic  and  zymotic  influences,  and 
furthermore,  by  correcting,  eradicating  or  keeping  in 
subjection  inherited  predisposition  to  disease.  In  this 
way  the  Bath  rises  to  the  dignity  of  an  unequalled  sani- 
tary institution,  and  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  it 
will  be  so  acknowledged  by  the  profession. 


If  the  inestimable  value  of  the  Turkish  Bath  were 
known  and  fully  understood — as  a  remedial  agent  in 
disease — as  a  preventive  in  the  thousand-and-one  dis- 
eases the  human  family  are  liable  to — if,  I  say,  these 
facts  were  known,  St.  Louis  would  boast  of  a  dozen 
first-class  baths  to-day  instead  of  one.  Our  hospitals 
and  insane  asylums,  also,  would  be  blessed  with  this 


great  boon  to  humanity,  for  such  it  would  be  to  the 
unfortunate  ones,  who,  through  misfortune  <>r  other 
causes  are  obliged  to  resort  to  these  charitable  institu- 
tions. Not  a  physician  in  the  land  would  dare,  even 
it'  from  selfish  motives  or  other  disparaging  reasons 
they  were  inclined  t<>  <l<>  so,  raise  their  voices  against 
it,  for  the  whole  community,  rich  and  poor,  would 
silence  their  objections.  The  Boards  of  Health  of  e\  ery 
city  in  the  Union  would  iusist  upon  the  introduction  of 
the  "  Hot  Air  Bath  "  into  every  institution  over  which 

thev  li:i<l  control. 


In  all  ages,  ]>ast  as  well  as  present,  there  have  been 
minds  so  constituted  and  cultivated  as  to  find  in  expe- 
rience a  true  source  of  knowledge,  bul  they  are  to  be 
counted  as  units  in  comparison  with  the  millions  of  ill- 
constituted,  ill-cultivated  minds  that  have  only  found 
in  experience  a  confirmation  of  their  prejudices  and 
errors.  Hence,  to  the  great  majority  of  medical  prac- 
titioners, experience  performs  the  same  office,  and  with 
precisely  similar  results  in  the  authentication  of  erro- 
neous- preconceptions,  as  in  the  ease  of  the  Sultan — 
described  by  Byron — who 

Saw.  by  his  own  eyes,  the  moon  was  round: 
Was,  also,  certain  thai  the  earth  was  square, 

Because  he  had  journied  lit'iy  miles,  and  found 
No  signs  thai  it  was  circular  anywhere. 


An  eminent  and  candid  medical  authority,  I>r. 
Frank,  of  London,  once  said  :  (t  thousands  are  annu- 
ally slaughtered  in  the  quiet  sick-room"  and  as  the 
Regulars  make  common  cause,  they  say  to  the  relatives 
and  friends  of  the  victims  immolated  by  their  gross  and 


—  226  — 

palpable  blundering,  that  science  and  art  had  been 
skillfully  employed  to  effect  a  cure,  but  that  it  was 
God's  will — His  time  had  come — and  that  is  all  that 
can  be  said  about  it. 


Dr.  Ram  age,  of  London,  placed  the  following 
remarkable  opinion  on  record:  "I  fearlessly  assert, 
.that  in  most  cases  the  patient  would  be  safer  without  a 
physician  than  with  one.  I  have  seen  enough  of  the 
mal-practice  of  my  professional  brethren  to  warrant 
the  strong  language  I  employ." 


Dr.  John  Johnson,  for  many  years  editor  of  the 
Medico  Chirurgical  Revieio,  gives  his  independent  testi- 
mony thus  :  "I  declare,  as  my  conscientious  conviction, 
founded  on  long  experience  and  reflection,  that  if  there 
was  not  a  single  physician,  man-midwife,  chemist, 
apothecary,  druggist,  nor  drug  on  the  face  of  the  earth, 
there  would  be  less  sickness  and  less  mortality  than 
now  prevails." 


It  should  never  be  forgotten  that  the  universe  moves 
in  obedience  to  laws  so  wise  and  good  that  they  will 
never  require  to  be  amended,  altered  or  revoked.  It 
is  the  proper  business  of  true  science  and  philosophy 
to  work  in  harmony  with  these  laws.  They  have  for- 
ever connected  health  with  temperance  and  peace  with 
virtue .  For  one  I  indulge  the  hope  that  science  will  fully 
unfold  the  mystery  of  our  being  and  show  the  law  of  our 
progress  written  upon  all  the  varied  leaves  of  creation, 
demonstrating  the  wisdom,  the  power  and  the  good- 
ness of  God,  who  has  given  immortality  to  men. 


—  227  — 

Aki:  5Toi    Realli  (  i  i  w  ? 

The  advantages  of  thorough  personal  cleanliness  are 
only  appreciated  by  a  few,  for  mosl  people  are  ignor- 
ant of  what  thorough  personal  cleanliness  means,  and 
consider  ablutions  which  are  confined  to  the  face,  neck 
and  hands  all  thai  is  necessarj .  II'  one  were  \<>  Bay  t<» 
the  average  man  or  woman  v-  You  are  uol  ••Iran,'"  ii  i> 
\ci\  certain  the  average  man  or  woman  would  be  hor- 
rified and  fed  insulted.  It  is  a  fact,  nevertheless, 
thai  largely  from  ignorance,  and  partly  IV. mi  preju- 
dice, we  go  through  life  "dirty,"  rarely,  if  ever, 
cognizanl  of  the  physical  pleasure  to  be  derived  from 
perfeel  cleanliness. 

Now,  it  may  be  asked  here,  not  inopportunely, 
••What    is    perfed    cleanliness?"       Briefly,    let    us 

describe  it  as  that  condition  which  enables  the  body  t" 
breathe  with  regularity  and  ease  through  the  pore-  of 
the  skin.  Whenever  the  body  cannot  so  breathe,  we 
are  not  clean,  and  sonic  internal  disorder,  more  or 
less  severe,  is  the  inevitable  result.  A  greal  many 
people  are  sick  simply  because  they  are  dirty.  Clean- 
liness, as  it  is  generally  understood,  means  that  the 
surface  of  the  -kin  is  free  from  dirt.  This,  however, 
is  not  real  cleanliness.  To  he  really  clean,  not  only 
the  surface  of  the  skin,  but  its  [tores,  musl  be  free 
from  dirt:  furthermore,  the  blood  itself  should  be 
free  from  impurities. 

It  may  be  said  with  trutli  that  dirt  on  the  surface  of 
the  skin  is  Do1  nearly  so  deleterious  a-  dirt  in  the 
pores.  This  statement  i-  proved  by  the  fact  that 
workmen  engaged  in  labor  where  proper  perspiration 
is    induced,    arc     rarely     unhealthy,    -imply     because, 


—  228  — 

though  dirty  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term,  the 
pores  of  the  skin  are  kept  constantly  washed  and  clean. 

Of  this  fact  most  of  us  are  ignorant.  Our  ances- 
tors in  olden  times  were  not  so  ignorant,  and  knowing 
full  well  that  hot  and  cold  water  washed  the  skin,  but 
not  its  pores,  in  order  to  keep  themselves  perfectly 
clean,  used  the  Hot  Air  Bath. — From  Food  and 
Health . 


The  Bath  in  Cold,  Rough  Weather. 

There  is  no  luxury  on  earth  that  compares  with  the 
Hot  Air  Bath  in  cold,  stormy  weather,  with  the  ther- 
mometer below  zero  :  the  hot  rooms  may  truly  be 
called  a  paradise  on  earth.  Oh,  yes,  we  hear  you  say, 
but  how  is  it  when  you  go  out?  it  must  be  very  dan- 
gerous— we  shall  get  cold — I  woudn't  take  one  for  a 
thousand  dollars  !  Now  we  assure  our  readers — those 
not  having  the  experience — that  they  are  laboring 
under  a  delusion,  and  we  regret  to  say  that  many  who 
ought  to  be  more  truthful,  encourage  that  sort  of 
belief  when  consulted  on  the  subject.  If  such  was  the 
case,  the  Bath  would  fall  of  its  own  weight — 'twould 
die  out — but  twelve  year's  experience  in  administering 
the  bath  shows  that  during  the  winter  of  each  year, 
the  business  is  fully  one-third,  more  than  in  the  sum- 
mer months.  Practical  knowledge  is  of  much  more 
worth  than  all  theories,  or  the  opinions  of  those  who 
think  they  know  all  about  it. 


A  lady  writer  in  Dr.  Shepard's  neat  little  quarterly, 
The  Uammam,  among  other  good  things  in  relation  to 
the  Turkish  Bath  for  ladies,  says  :     "On  one  point  in 


—  229 

particular  I  wish  i<>  remove  any  wrong  impression. 
There  is  no  exposure  here  of  beauties,  or  defects 
either,  nol  ordinarily  visible.  'How  nice  this  is,1 
said  a  lady  to  me  one  <la\  al  the  bath  ;  ••  I  thoughl  one 
was  so  shockingl}  exposed.'  She  found  she  had  a 
little  room  to  herself  where  -die  could  undress  and 
w  lap  a  sheet  around  Ikt,  only  face  and  feel  being  seen, 

and    thu-   enjoy    a    luxury    which    is    nowhere  to  he  had 

except  at  t he  Turkish  Bath. 


There  i>  no  royal  cure  by  drugs,  resl  assured — "" 
third  person  in  il"  shap\  <>/' an  atonement.  Nature  is 
run  upon  the  European  plan — you  gel  precisely  what 
you  pay  for,  and  you  pay  the  debt  to  the  uttermbsl 
farthing;  nature  demands  good  money;  you  must 
either  pay,  or  settle  the  hill  with  much  suffering. 


"Perhaps  nothing  will  so  much  hasten  the  time," 
says  Spencer.  ••  when  body  ami  mind  will  both  be 
adequately  cared  for,  as  a  diffusion  of  the  belief  thai 
the  preservation  of  health  is  a  duty.  Few  seem  con- 
scious that  there  i-  such  a  thing  as  physical  morality. 
Men"-  habitual  words  and  acts  imply  the  idea  thai 
they  are  at  liberty  to  treal  their  bodies  as  they  please. 
Disorders  entailed  !>\  disobedience  to  nature's  dictates, 
they  regard  simply  as  grievances,  not  as  the  effects  of 
a  conduct  more  or  less  flagitious.  Though  the  evil 
consequences  inflicted  on  their  dependents  and  on 
future  generations,  are  often  as  greal  as  those 
caused  by  crime,  yet  they  do  not  think  themselves  in 
any  degree  criminal.  It  i<  true  that,. in  the  case 
of  drunkenness,  the  viciousness  of  purely  bodily  trans- 
gression is  recognized ;  hut    none  appear  to  infer  that 


—  230  — 

if  this  bodily  transgression  is  vicious,  so,  too,  is  every 
bodily  transgression.  The  fact  is,  all  breaches  of  the 
laws  of  health  are  physical  sins." 


Real  force  and  primary  success  fall  to  the  lot  of 
very  few  men,  but  sustained  perseverance  can  be 
practiced  by  the  most  humble  and  insignificant,  while 
its  silent  power  will  be  found  to  grow  irresistible  with 
time.  Fate  itself  cannot  withstand  diligence  and 
skill.  It  is  not  strength,  but  perseverance,  that  wins 
the  battle  ;  and  even  in  social  life,  it  is  rather  persist- 
ency than  talents,  that  wins  the  coveted  prize. 


The  Turkish  Bath  should  not  be  considered  in  the 
light  of  a  private  enterprise  To  place  the  greatest 
luxury — the  most  efficient  preventive  of  disease,  and 
the  most  powerful  remedial  agent  known — within 
reach  of  the  people,  should  be  treated  as  one  of  the 
great  public  questions  of  the  day,  and  those  who  pro- 
mote it  should  be  regarded  as  public  benefactors,  and 
humanitarians  of  the  first  water. 


If  there  is  any  difference  there  is  greater  necessity 
for  the  employment  of  hot  air,  electric,  and  Roman 
baths  for  ladies  than  for  gentlemen.  Indoor  life  and 
little  exercise  cause,  in  many  instances,  mental  depres- 
sion, impairment,  and  physical  prostration,  with  ex- 
treme sensibility  to  climatic  changes,.  They  have  only 
to  employ  these  sanitary  agents  to  become  healthy, 
ornamental  and  useful.  They  should  be  early  taught 
the  important  truth  that  beauty  and  health  are  insepa- 
rable, and  that  both  are  as  certain  to  follow  obedience 
to  organic  law  as  disease  is  to  follow  transgression. 


—  231  — 

In  the  physical  world  so  long  ae  nature  is  hurrying 
the  83  stem  onward  to  a  perfect! 3  healthy  tone,  the  wise 
physician  will  watch,  bul  lei  nature  have  it-  ■■ 
while  the  unwise  will  dose  and  blister  :ni<l  purge, 
reduce,  then  try  i<>  tone  up,  until  the  machine  is  broken 
down  by  injudicious  experimenting.  All  persona  who 
attempt  to  control  governments  and  regulate  the  pub- 
lic finances  should  remember  thai  there  are  certain 
laws  of  demand  and  supply  thai  cannol  be  conl  ravened 

without  a  shock. 


"  In  his  diseases  Asa  soughl  nol  to  the  Lord,  bul  t<> 
the  physician.     And  As;i  slept  with  hi-  fathers." 


The  Bath  now  stands  upon  its  own  merits,'  a  greal 
natural  and  acknowledged  power,  and  it-  -lory  is  that 
like  truth,  it  can  enter  into  no  dishonesl  compromise 
with  error.  Let  it  not,  however,  he  supposed  for  a 
moment  that  we  represent  the  Bath  as  a  Catholican  or 
Panacea:  far  from  it.  These  is  not  in  nature  any 
sovereign  remedy  for  all  diseases,  save  the  avoidance 

of  their  causes,  hut  this,  at  least,  is  certain,  that  as  far 
as  the  unerring  evidence  of  enlightened  and  verified 
experience  warrant-  a  decided  conviction,  and  justifies 
its  candid  expression,  the  Bath  can  he  mosl  advanta- 
geously employed  in  all  disease-;  and  that,  in  cases 
where  its  curative  properties  are  rendered  inoperative 
by  organic  disease,  it  is  capable  of  exercising  a  most 
salutary  and  soothing  influence  as  a  demulcent ,  in  abat- 
ing the  virulence  of  morbid  action,  and  alleviating,  as 
nothing  else  can  do  the  misery  of  human  suffering.    '/'<> 

this    extt  ill ,    (iiul    ii"  J'nrlhi r,    ///'      i/s,     of  l/>>-     Balk    18 

advocatt  <l . 


—  232  — 

Prof.  H.  von  Zeimssen  of  Munich,  Bavaria,  in  his 
new  Medical  Cyclopaedia,  which  has  been  republished 
in  England  and  in  this  country,  as  a  standard  work, 
endorses  the  hot-air  bath — the  so-called  Turkish  Bath, 
(or  Thernise),  and  in  volume  fifteen,  on  kidney  dis- 
eases, and  especially  in  nearly  all  forms  of  Bright' s 
Disease,  after  presenting  the  various  remedies  which 
have  been  relied  upon,  and  which  he  says  are  not  re- 
liable, he  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  in  his  opinion, 
"diaphoresis  constitutes  the  most  reliable  means  of 
reducing  the  troublesome  and  dangerous  dropsy." 

"  It  is  also  the  only  treatment  from  which  I  believe 
myself  justified  in  expecting  a  curative  .action  on  the 
process  of  disease  in  the  kidneys. 

"  In  this  sense,  an  efficient  diaphoretic  treatment 
fulfils  not  only  the  indicatio  symtomatim,  but  actually 
also  the  indicatio-morbi  in  a  better  and  surer  manner 
than  any  other  mode  of  treatment. 

"In  chronic  parynchymatous  nephretis  also  I  have 
repeatedly  found,  after  the  adoption  of  a  methodical 
diaphoretic  treatment,  that  as  soon  as  I  succeeded  in 
producing  a  profuse  sweat  every  day,  a  more  abund- 
ant flow  of  urine  set  in,  and  the  percentage  of  albu- 
men became  less.  We  must  remember  that  in  the 
chronic  form  of  the  disease,  ( Bright' s  Disease),  we 
have  to  deal  with  a  much  more  extensive  alteration, 
both  of  the  vessels  and  the  tissues,  and  if  we  expect  to 
effect  a  cure  by  diaphoresis  we  must  set  to  work  in  a 
thoroughly  methodical  manner,  and  carry  out  the  treat- 
ment with  obstinate  pertinacity." 

The  method  most  agreeable  to  the  patient,  and  at 
the  same  time,  as  I  believe,  most  effectual,  is  to  heat 


—233  — 

the  skin  by  dry  hoi  air,  as  i  —  « 1 s  in  the  so-called  Turk- 
ish Bath  :  this  plan  is  greatly  to  be  preferred  to  vapor 
baths  or  sweating  closets ;  this  undoubtedly  offers  the 
opportunity  for  producing  the  longest  sweating  with- 
out any  prejudicial  effects  upon  the  patient. 

"The  employment  of  steam  and  water  baths  una- 
voidably induces  considerable  elevation  of  the  temper- 
ature of  the  whole  body;  this  cannot  be  endured  for 
more  than  a  short  time  without  injury.  No  similar 
overheating  need  be  induced  in  hot-air  baths,  and  we 
should  therefore  lie  able  to  allow  our  patients  to  sweat 
for  much  longer  periods  without  anxiety. 

••It  would  he  at  once  simplesl  and  mosl  convenient 
to  let  these  patients  take  their  baths  in  complete  estab- 
lishments, with  comfortable  bath  rooms,  but  to  meel 
special  contingencies,  we  could  avail  ourselves  of  make- 
shifts, so  called  sweating  closets,  or  sand  hath-,  etc." 

Excuse  me  also  for  calling  your  attention  to  a  recent 
statement   of   Dr.  Walla-ton,  Medical   Director  of  the 

British  army  : 

11  In  my  professional  attendance  on  the  sick,  in  he 
hospital  at  Scutari,  I  contracted  a  severe  fever,  which 
nearly  proved  fatal.  After  having  partially  recovered, 
by  the  skill  and  zeal  of  my  medical  friends,  Dr.  Del- 
mege  and  Dr.  ("alder,  of  the  17th  Regiment,  whose 
names  I  cannot  forbear  mentioning,  I  was  induced  to 
try  a  Turkish  Bath,  notwithstanding  my  <l<h;iit;/.  I 
labored  under  severe  hepatic  disease  and  jaundice,  fol- 
lowed by  oedema  of  the  legs  and  abdominal  dropsy. 

"  I  confess  the  first  Turkish  Bath  was  somewhat  dif- 
ficult t<>    bear,  owing  to  the  exhaustion  which  attended 


—  234  — 

my  illness.  Afterwards  I  greatly  enjoyed  the  Bath,  and 
each  successive  one  made  me  feel  fresher  and  fresher, 
till  they  materially  altered  the  whole  character  of  my 
illness.  The  copious  perspiration  gave  me  immense 
relief.  My  skin,  which  had  been  hot,  dry,  parched  up, 
and  irritable,  now  became  cool,  soft,  and  pleasant,  the 
cuticle  peeled  off  the  whole  body  like  the  desquama- 
tion from  scarlet  fever  ;  I  had  the  pleasure  of  renew- 
ing the  whole  surface  of  the  body,  as  if  I  had  been 
moulting  The  new  cuticle  was  as  smooth  as  velvet, 
and  the  organ  of  touch  extremely  sensitive,  but  not  at 
all  painful.  The  biliary  secretions  gradually  returned, 
the  absorbent  system,  heightened  into  action,  removed 
the  dropsy  from  the  abdomen  and  extremities,  aiid  the 
general  functions  improved  ;  I  slept  better,  aud  my  ap- 
petite became  keen.  I  will  venture  to  assert  most  dis- 
tinctly that  I  experienced  more  benefit  from  a  continu- 
ance of  the  Bath  than  I  derived  from  all  other  medi- 
cines put  together,  and  that  I  owe  my  life  to  the  Turk- 
ish Bath. 


That  the  editor  of  this  diminutive  sheet  has  been  in 
St.  Louis  nearly  five  years  and  has  never  knowingly 
taken  a  dose  of  quinine  during  his  stay  ;  has  never  had 
a  chill  or  suffered  more  than  temporary  inconvenience 
from  malarial  influence,  and  his  simple  preventive  has 
been  the  Turkish  Bath.  It  is  simply  astonishing  to 
see  the  amount  and  quality  of  ignorance  that  prevails 
among  intelligent  people  respecting  the  Bath.  Many 
believe  it  to  be  foretaste  of  purgatory :  a  remedy 
whose  possible  advantages  are  more  than  balanced  by 
the  severity  of  its  administration.  Never  was  a  greater 
mistake.     If  }^ou  are  worn  out  by  continued  labor  of 


—  235  — 

brain  or  body,  if  you  have  a  hervous  or  a  hi  lion-  head- 
ache,  it'  vim  are  troubled  with  the  premonitory  aymp- 
toms  of  diarrhosa,  do  nol  dose  yourself  with  braudy, 
peppermint  <>r  opium,  take  a  Turkish  Bath;  you  not 
only  have  the  satisfaction  of  being  cured,  but  of  being 
cured  <>n  sound  physiological  principles. — -Church  of 
i In    Messiah. 


Never  was  there  a  greater  mistake  made  than  thai 
perspiration  is  weakening.  Ii  drains  away  no  living 
tissue,  1  ml  merely  effete  and  poisonous  matter,  which 
was  oppressing,  and  not  maintaining  life.  It  has  become 
a  question  with  me,  net  whal  the  Bath  will  cure,  bul 
what  it  will  not  cure. — hi-.  Brereton,  introducer  of  the 
/,'(////  into  .  I  ustralia. 


The  Director  of  the  large  Bath  in  Dublin,  says: 
"In  four  years  we  have  had  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  bathers.  I  have  never  yet  known  of  a  per- 
son being  injured  by  a  hath      I  have  sometimes  heard 

reports  of  injury,  hut  when  I  have  inquired  into  such 
cases,  I  have  invariably  found*  them  to  he  without 
foundation." 


Persons  of  sedentary  habits,  merchants,  bankers, 
lawyers,  ministers,  literary  men,  clerks,  men  of  leisure, 
and    gentlemen    and    ladies   of   wealth  and  ease,  should 

take  these  baths  every  week  as  a  mean-  of  preserving 
their  health,  and  thus  enhancing  all    the  enjoyments 

of  life. 


The  Turkish  Bath  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  ladies. 
From  their  sedentary  habits,  the  circulation  of  the 
hlood  in  the  extremities  and  at  the  surface  is  defective, 


—  236  — 

causing  much  unpleasantness  of  feeling,  coldness  of 
extremities,  torpidity  of  the  skin,  sick  headache,  etc. 
The  Turkish  Bath  is  admirably  adapted  to  relieve  this 
condition,  and  is  destined  to  be  largely  used  by  the 
ladies,  wherever  erected.  Their  effect  in  beautifying 
the  complexion,  improving  the  health  of  the  skin, 
and  imparting  a  healthy  tone  to  the  bod}'-,  is  truly 
remarkable 


Every  physician  knows,  though  metaphysicians  know 
little  about  it,  that  the  laws  that  govern  the  animal 
machine  are  as  certain  and  invariable  as  those  which 
guide  the  planetary  system,  and  are  as  little  subject  to 
the  control  of  the  human  being  who  is  subject  to 
them. 


In  the  reign  of  Antoninus  Caracalla,  A.  D.  302, 
Gibbon  says:  "The  baths  of  Caracalla  were  opened 
at  stated  hours  for  the  indiscriminate  service  of  the 
senators  and  the  people ;  that  they  contained  about 
1,600  seats  of  marble,  and  that  the  Thermse  could 
accommodate  more  than  3,000  persons  at  one  time. 
They  occupied  the  '  Aventine  Mount,'  and  excelled  in 
beauty,  grandeur  and  extent  those  of  any  former 
Emperor.  The  whole  enclosed  space  was  more  than 
one  mile  in  circumference ;  the  total  length  of  the 
Thermse,  or  hot  air  chamber,  was  1,840  feet,  and  its 
breadth  1,476  feet.  At  each  end  were  two  temples ; 
one,  dedicated  to  Appollo,  the  other,  to  iEsculapius, 
as  the  tutelary  deities  of  a  place  sacred  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  mind  and  health. 

' '  The  baths  of  Diocletian  excelled  even  those  of 
Caracalla  in  extent  and  splendor,  and  were  the  largest 


—  237  — 

in    Rome,    or,    indeed,    in    the    world,   Un-  they  were 
capable   of   accommodating    L8,000    bathers  at  once. 

According  to  Eusebins,  they  were  completed  A.  I). 
302,  and  were  bnilt,  principally,  by  tli<'  enforced  labor 
of  Christians,  during  the  tenth  and  last  persecution." 

All  the  baths  <>f  the  Emperors  had  the  air  heated  bj 
flues  underneath  the  floor — the  hypocaustium — after 
the  Greek  model.  So  highly  valued  was  the  bath  by 
the  military  authorities,  as  a  sanitary  institution,  thai 
wherever  a  permanent  Roman  camp  was  formed,  there, 
also,  baths  were  constructed  to  protect  the  health  of 
the  soldiers  The  extensive  remains  of  several  such 
have  been  discovered  in  England,  at  London,  Chester, 
Weaxeter,  and  elsewhere. 


SLEEP  S    TIME. 

Sleep  obtained  two  hours  before  midnight,  when  the 
negative  forces  are  in  operation,  is  the  rest  which  most 
recuperates  the  system,  giving  brightness  to  the  eye 

and  a  glow  to  the  cheek.  The  difference  in  the  appear- 
ance of  a  person  who  habitually  retires  at  ten  o'clock 
and  that  of  one  who  sits  up  until  twelve  is  quite 
remarkable.  The  tone  of  the  system,  so  evident  in 
the  complexion,  the  clearness  and  sparkle  of  the  eye, 
and  the  softness  of  the  lines  of  the  features,  is,  in  a 
person  of  health,  kept  at  "concert  pitch"  by  taking 
regular  rest  two  hours  before  twelve  o'clock,  and 
thereby  obtaining  the  "beauty  sleep"  of  night. 
There  is  a  heaviness  of  the  eye,  a  sallowness  of  the 
skin,  and  an  iabsence  of  that  <j;low  in  the  face  which 
renders  it  fresh  in  expression  and  round  in  appearance, 
that  readily  distinguishes  the  person  who  keeps  late 
hour-. 


AFTER  THE  BATH. 


There  comes  a  dreamy  languor  o'er  me  stealing, 

A  lassitude  which  is  not  lack  of  strength, 
A  pulsing  rest,  a  plenitude  of  feeling, 

Which  thrills  divinely  through  my  sheeted  length. 
There's  no  negation  in  the  soft  enjoyment; 

It  is  not  enervation,  but  delight. 
Body  and  mind  find  sensuous  employment 

In  idle  shifting  and  in  fancies  bright. 

Nothing  disturbs  the  self-possessed  sensation, 

Each  muscle  is  reliant,  and  each  nerve; 
There  is  an  equipoise,  a  co-relation, 

A  perfect  balance  which  they  all  preserve. 
I  watch  the  smoke -wreaths  from  my  lips  uprising, 

I  note  the  fountain  idling  with  its  spray, 
Luxurious  adjuncts  to  a  fair  devising, 

And  lazily  the  moments  pass  away. 

Such  glowing  rest  might  follow  a  potation 

Of  liquor  spiced,  or  still  decanted  wine, 
But  so  could  never  come  the  clean  equation 

'Twixt  brain  and  body  which  I  feel  in  mine. 
There  is  no  thought  of  yet-to-come  reaction, 

No  forfeit  for  the  passing  pleasure's  sum, 
Here  only  is  a  perfect  satisfaction 

Of  what  is  present  and  is  yet  to  come. 

Beyond  all  pale  of  pleasure  apathetic 

He  passes  who  pursues  this  pleasant  path, 
A  finer  zest  is  his,  a  thrill  magnetic, 

The  perfect  sequel  to  the  perfect  bath. 
Nothing  is  needed  the  delight  enhancing, 

The  blood  is  free  in  artery  and  in  vein, 
'Tis  but  to  will  the  act  to  set  it  dancing 

In  turbulent  and  bubbling  course  again. 

Like  tiger  basking  in  the  noon-day  splendid, 

With  nerves  relaxed,  but  still  with  nerves  of  steel, 
I  lie  supine  'till  the  siesta's  ended, 

Quiescent,  still  the  tiger's  vigor  feel; 
And  then  I  shake  me,  like  the  tiger  waking, 

And  face  the  struggles  of  the  day  once  more, 
To  laugh  at  troubles  which  had  set  me  quaking — 

Mere  trifles  now  which  heavy  were  before. 

S.  WATERLOO. 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  June  11, 1876. 


THE  BATH  CODE. 


RULES    FOB    ITS    8APE    AND     BALUTAR1     ADMINISTRATION. 

1.  Calm  and  repose  of  body  and  mind  is  the  first 
essentia]  rule  of  conducl  in  the  bath.  All  distracting 
thoughts  ami  passions,  therefore,  should  We  left  :it 
the  door.  Even  t<>  talk  is  more  or  less  to  excite  the 
brain,  and  should  he  avoided  us  much  a-  possible. 
The  reason  of  this  rule  is  obvious,  because  the  objecl 
soughl  is  to  summon  into  vigorous  exercise  the  more 
organic  or  vegetative  powers  of  the  economy — to  pro- 
mote for  the  time  the  quickened  activity  of  circula- 
tion, exhalation,  excretion,  absorption,  etc,  and  in  sel 
;it  rest  the  jaded  or  worried  animal  nervous  system. 
In  other  words,  to  quiet  the  brain,  to  soothe  the  sen- 
sitive nerves,  and  to  rouse  the  organie  or  nutritive 
nerves.     I  verily  believe  that  a  Large  majority  of  my 

bathers  lose    almost,    and    altogether,    the  good    effects 

of  the  bath,  by  reading  in  the  hot  rooms,  by  discussing 
exciting  subjects,  and  walking  rapidly  up  and  down 
the  rooms  while  taking  their  baths. 

The  diaphoresis,  or  perspiration,  is  intended  to  be 
broughl  about,  while  the  bather  is  in  a  passive  state, 
it  is  then  never  weakening ,  no  vital  energy  i-  lost. 
Bui  by  tramping,  %'  or  go  as  you  please,"  by  working 
ones  self  into  fever  heat,  by  rubbing  your  arms  and 
legs  to  see  what  discoveries  can  be  made,  or  talking, 
thereby  inviting  the  Mood  to  the  brain,  the  bath  is  losl 


—  240  — 

to  all  who  indulge  in    such   nonsense,  aye,  worse  than 
lost,  for  actual  injury  is  done. 

2.  In  cold  weather,  bathers  going  in  with  cold  feet, 
so  cold  that  they  almost  feel  that  no  fire  can  warm 
them,  have  the  first  cup  of  comfort,  so  to  speak,  by 
placing  their  feet  upon  a  hot  tile  floor,  (far  prefera- 
ble to  a  hot  water  foot  bath)  the  feet  are  soon 
warmed,  and  the  determination  of  blood  to  the  head 
which  some  bathers  complain  of  (or  fear  they  will 
have)  will  be  prevented,  and  perspiration  will  be 
induced  in  a  much  shorter  time. 

3.  If  the  uninitiated  bather  (especially  if  an  inva- 
lid, where  the  skin  is  iuactive)  does  not  perspire  readily 
in  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  he  should  be  taken  to  the 
shampooing  room  and  be  sponged  off  thoroughly  with 
warm  water,  or  what  is  much  better,  have  his  or  her 
shampoo  there  and  then,  and  return  to  the  hot  room. 
If  the  skin  does  not  act  then  in  a  few  minutes,  the 
bather  should  be  taken  by  the  attendant  back  to  the 
shampooing  room,  cooled  off,  and  sent  to  cooling 
room  for  rest  and  quiet.  The  second  bath,  if  taken 
within  a  few  days  after  the  first  one,  will  be  more  sat- 
isfactory, as  free  perspiration  will  be  the  result  after 
a  short  time  in  the  hot  room.  The  supposed  case,. 
above  mentioned,  very  seldom  occurs. 

4.  The  time  to  be  spent  in  the  tepid,  or  hot  room, 
will  vary  according  to  the  sensation  and  power  of  tol- 
erance of  the  bather  ;  no  rule  can  possibly^be  laid  down 
for  all.  As  a  general  rule,  however,  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  from  twenty  minutes  to  one  hour  is  a  good  aver- 
age for  most  people.  The  skinbound  require  longer 
time  than  those  whose  skin  acts  promptly,  but  the  for- 


—  241  — 

mer  cannol  enjoy  the  bath  as  well  as  the  latter,  01 
quently,  they  must  uol  attempt  to  take  too  loug  baths 
at  i  be  commencement  of  i  he  course. 

5.  On  entering  the  shani] ing  room,  first   in  order 

is  io  have  ilic  shampooing  table  warm,  <>r  hot  even. 
No  i>ih'  should  allow  themselves  to  lie  down  upon  ;i 
cold,  or  even  u  cool  slab ;  (  better  ten  times  ir<>  without 
your  shampoo,  however  much  you  may  enjoy  the  ma- 
nipulator's gentle  touch )  :  for  a  cold  is  sure  to  follow 
such  m  perversion  of  what  a  Turkish  Bath  should  be. 

ii.  To  gel  the  ionic  or  stimulating  effecl  of  the  bath 
the  attendant  should  work  rapidly  and  vigorously,  (  not 
roughly,  by  any  means);  let  the  manipulations  be 
quiet  and  gentle ;  use  warm  water  freely  for  cleansing 
the  body  from  soap:  then  cool,  followed  by  cold,  for 
a  few  seconds.  In  cold  weather  the  time  occupied  in 
spraying  off  and  cooling  should  nol  be  more  than  two 
minutes,  then  the  bather  sets  the  tonic  and  stimulating 
effects  of  a  Turkish  Bath.  On  the  contrary,  if  the 
bather  allows  the  attendant  to  spray  him  for  li\e  or 
ten  minutes,  as  many  do,  it  takes  the  electricity  all  out 
of  a  person,  and  utterly  destroys  the  good  effects  of  r 
proper  bath  A  man  is  nol  a  fish,  and  cannot  flourish 
and  grow  strong  under  such  treatment,  however  pleas- 
ant it  may  be  to  the  bather. 

7.  The  skin  is  besl  allowed  to  dry  in  a  warm  sheet, 
while  taking  rest  on  the  couch  in  the  cooling  room. 
Very  little  rubbing  should  be  done  with  towels,  as  the 

skin  is  very  sensitive  and  delicate  after  a  Turkish  hath. 
The  time  spent  in  the  Cooling  room — t  be  luxurious  time 
of  the  hath  -may  be  from  fifteen  minutes  to  a  half 
hour,  or  longer  if  desired. 


—  242  — 

8.  The  bath  should  never  be  taken  on  a  full  stom- 
ach ;  two  hours  should  certainly  intervene  after  a 
heavy  dinner. 

9  There  are  cases — a  feeble  person,  or  one  suffer- 
ing from  a  severe  cold — when,  after  entering  the  cool- 
ing room,  or  when  about  to  dress,  feel  a  little  chilly. 
Such  a  one  should  enter  the  hot  room  for  a  few  mo- 
ments, take  a  turn  up  and  down  the  room  ;  the  chilly 
feeling  will  at  once  subside,  and  will  not  return. 

10.  When  the  object  is  to  deplete  or  disgorge  con- 
gested organs,  (as  the  liver,  spleen,  or  the  kidneys), 
then  the  profuse  perspiration,  at  the  'sole  expense  of 
the  existing  fluids  in  the  body,  will  be  more  likely  to 
drain  off  the  excess  of  blood  from  the  overloaded  or- 
gan. To  this  end,  withhold  all  fluids  during  the  pro- 
cess, excepting  perhaps  in  "some  cases  of  kidney  dis- 
ease 

If  the  above  advice  would  be  followed  by  the  pat- 
rons of  a  bath,  much  more  good  would  be  derived 
therefrom,  and  better  results  attained. 

Proper  advice  by  a  physician  is  well,  but  not  pre- 
scribed at  random,  or  to  be  invoked  at  the  beck  or 
whim  of  every  patron  who  has  once  or  twice  experi- 
enced its  solaces.  I  happen  to  know  that  already  the 
bath,  like  all  other  good  things,  is  being  abused  ;  espe- 
cially in  this,  where  old  bathers  volunteer  their  advice 
to  new  bathers,  and  especially  so  where  the  bather  is 
an  invalid. 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 

This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated  below,  or  at  the 
expiration  of  a  definite  period  after  the  date  of  borrowing,  as 
provided  by  the  library  rules  or  by  special  arrangement  with 
the  Librarian  in  charge. 


DATE   BORROWED 

DATE   DUE 

DATE   BORROWED 

DATE   DUE 

MAP  1  a  19/ 

' 

MAR   1 1  IS 

MAR  1  R  19 

47 

M*Y 

0  51999  Ml 

y  2  6  twa 

gjy  0 

1  1999   M 

'2  61999 

m 

261999  J 

UN*  6  1995" 

■    it  it       i 

i  ,.  ■    i 

,i8 

2005      OG 

T  1  §  20LS 

0( 

JT  0  6  200 

p 

/ 

C28(842)MS< 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 


III    III    III  III  II 


0043067522 


^n  zx 


AD 


